I spent my weekend like never before, living together with Nico made it feel special. Together, we walked hand in hand to school, since our new home was just a short stroll away. Today was Nico's first day working as a researcher at my new school.
"How does it feel to finally start working?" I asked.
"I'm quite nervous, actually," he admitted. "I'll be continuing where my father left off, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull it off."
I squeezed his hand, offering comfort. "I know you'll do well, Nico. Just own it. You don't have to live in the shadow of your father's accomplishments. Just do your best."
He smiled sweetly and kissed my forehead.
As we neared the campus gate, I was about to let go of his hand, but he held on tighter. I looked up at him, and he kissed my hand.
"Don't let go of my hand. We no longer have to hide what we have, Nyx. This isn't Westbrook anymore. Here, we can freely show our relationship. But if you'd prefer to hide—"
"No way! I don't want to hide what we have," I interrupted.
He wrapped me in an embrace, and I savored every moment.
As we entered, I expected people to stare or judge us. But to my surprise, no one looked at us with questioning eyes. When people glanced our way, they either greeted us warmly or simply ignored us.
We parted ways, me heading to the Human-AI department and Nico to the robotics department. I walked lightheartedly, almost hopping toward my classroom. In the corridor, I met Lila and Sam.
"Lila! Sam! Good morning," I greeted.
"Nyx! Morning," Sam said.
"Good morning, Nyx," Lila said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. She whispered with a grin, "Nyx, who's the guy you came with?"
"He's my boyfriend. He'll be joining the school research team starting today," I said happily, grateful I could share our relationship openly.
"Really? Your boyfriend's on the research team?" Lila's eyes sparkled.
"Why do you seem more excited about him being on the team than about your relationship?" I wondered. It was clear this was a place where people cared more about work than gossip.
"Who wouldn't be? The research team comes with a lot of perks: access to all school facilities, uninterrupted research time, a high salary, and more," Lila explained before Sam quickly covered her mouth. Lila glared at him.
"I'll ask him about it later at home," I whispered.
"Oh, at home? So you're both living together?" Lila's gossip side shone as she peppered me with questions. I happily answered, and we chatted all the way to class.
During the lesson, we were told we'd build our own AI program. Excited but nervous, I realized I had no clue about coding. I spent my breaks in the library, with Lila and Sam helping me.
"This is hard," I complained, burying my face in a book.
"You say that, but you're keeping up just fine," Sam said without looking up.
"Whoa, is Sam feeling okay?" Lila teased, poking his cheek while giggling.
"I'm just telling the truth," Sam said. "She was a Business Management major before switching to our field, yet she's managing well."
"That's true. Nyx, if you think you're falling behind, that's not it at all. You understand everything quickly, that's something to be proud of," Lila added.
I smiled and giggled as they began bickering again. When the bell rang, we returned to class.
Afterward, Lila and Sam asked to meet Nico, so the three of us headed to the robotics building. I texted Nico to tell him about my new friends, but there was no reply.
"Seems like he's busy. He hasn't replied yet," I said.
Lila and Sam exchanged looks. "We can wait a bit; we're just staying at the dorm," Lila said.
"Right. Let's wait by that bench," Sam pointed behind us.
We waited for 20 minutes, then 30, almost an hour. I didn't want to bombard Nico with texts, so I kept waiting. While Lila and Sam didn't mind, I felt a bit embarrassed.
"Uh, guys, it seems my boyfriend hasn't read my text."
"Maybe he's just busy. There's always next time," Lila said, standing up.
Just then, Nico dashed hurriedly toward the self-operated door at the robotics building entrance. He glanced around anxiously, checking the hallways as he made his way out.
When he spotted me sitting by the bench with Lila and Sam, he let out a relieved breath. Sweat dotted his forehead from rushing over.
"I'm so sorry for making you wait!" he said, panting slightly as he reached us. "Things got hectic with the lab this morning, and I lost track of time. I didn't mean to leave you hanging."
I smiled warmly and shook my head. "It's okay, Nico. I was just worried at first, but I'm glad you're here now."
Without even glancing at Lila and Sam, Nico immediately wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug, as if the rest of the world didn't exist.
Lila cleared her throat gently, a slight smile playing on her lips as she tried to catch Nico's attention. "Uh, Nico… we're still here, you know?"
Sam gave a small cough, trying to be a bit more obvious, but Nico's focus was unwavering. He still held me close, like nothing else mattered.
After a brief pause, I pulled slightly away from Nico's embrace and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Nico, these are my friends, Lila and Sam. They've been helping me adjust to the new department and everything." I gestured toward them with a smile.
Lila's eyes sparkled with a mixture of admiration and curiosity as she looked Nico over, clearly impressed. "So, this is the famous Nico I've heard so much about," she said, her voice filled with awe. "I can see why Nyx talks about you so much."
Sam nodded in agreement, his gaze sharp yet warm. "Yeah, you must be something special if you're part of the robotics team here. That's a pretty big deal."
Nico finally turned his attention toward them, a shy smile breaking through as he nodded politely. "It's nice to meet you both. Nyx has told me a lot about you."
Lila's smile widened, and her eyes gleamed with excitement. "We've been looking forward to meeting you. It's great to put a face to the name."
Sam gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, especially since you've been MIA all morning, we were starting to wonder if Nyx was talking to herself."
The three of them laughed softly, and for a moment, the tension eased as new friendships quietly began to form around us.
The soft glow of the dining room light wrapped around the small table where Nico and I sat, plates of steaming food between us. The quiet clink of cutlery and the faint hum of evening settling in made the moment feel peaceful, just the two of us after a long day.
"So, how was your first day in the Human-AI department?" Nico asked, smiling warmly as he reached for his glass.
I smiled back, feeling comforted by his calm presence. "It was... intense, but exciting. They told us we're going to start building our own AI programs soon. I'm honestly a bit nervous, I don't have much experience with coding or AI, and it feels like a huge mountain to climb."
Nico nodded thoughtfully, chewing slowly. "Building an AI from scratch is a big challenge, but also an amazing opportunity. It's like creating something that can learn and grow on its own. You might not be an expert yet, but you have the curiosity and heart to make it work."
I glanced at him, grateful. "I just worry about the technical parts, programming languages, algorithms, neural networks... It all sounds complicated. But I want to try, to learn, and I'm lucky to have friends helping me."
He reached across the table, taking my hand gently. "You won't be alone. I'll help however I can, and I know Lila and Sam will be there too. Step by step, you'll get there."
I squeezed his hand, feeling my confidence grow with his support. "Thanks, Nico. I really want to make something meaningful... something that connects people, like how we connected."
He smiled softly, eyes shining. "Then that's the best foundation you could have."
Nico released my hand gently, then glanced over his shoulder toward the hallway. "Actually…" he began, a little sheepishly. "There's something I've been meaning to show you."
I tilted my head. "Hmm? What is it?"
With a faint smirk, he reached into the pocket of his coat draped over the nearby chair. From it, he pulled out a small metallic object, no bigger than a coin, smooth and dark silver, almost glowing under the dining room light.
I blinked. "What's that?"
"Something I've been working on… privately," he said as he held it between his fingers. He tapped it twice with his thumb.
In an instant, the tiny object shimmered, then projected a soft ripple, like a drop of water falling into a still pond. The air above it shimmered, then opened like a doorway into a strange, vast emptiness. I leaned forward, eyes wide.
Inside the device… was space.
A space that defied all logic, vast, quiet, endless, with smooth crystalline pathways floating like bridges in a sky of stars. It was like gazing into a self-contained universe, suspended just above the table.
I covered my mouth, stunned. "Nico… what is this?"
"This is a prototype dimensional core," he said, his tone quieter now. "It's something I designed to be more than just storage. It's a growing environment, a home for a digital consciousness. Something that can exist without the limitations of conventional systems."
My breath hitched. "You made this?"
He gave a faint nod. "It's still in early form, but it's where I wanted to start building something real. Something alive. If you're going to make an AI, not just lines of code, but a being that can feel, respond, evolve, this could be the place it grows."
I stared into the tiny portal, the swirling starlight reflecting in my eyes. "So… this could be the foundation?"
"For yours," he said, looking into me. "Or for ours."
The glow from the portal pulsed gently, as if waiting, for code, for heart, for the breath of something new to take shape inside it.
And in that quiet moment, I knew this wasn't just about a school project anymore. It was the beginning of something bigger.
The next morning, sunlight filtered gently through the tall windows of the Human-AI department's main laboratory. A soft hum of machines filled the room, blending with the occasional clicking of keyboards and shuffling of chairs as the students filed in. Each workstation was neatly arranged, complete with a sleek computer setup, monitors glowing softly in standby mode.
I found my assigned seat, a small desk at the far side, beside a wide digital whiteboard. The moment I sat down, I felt a twinge of nervous excitement. This was it. The beginning of something unknown, but possibly extraordinary.
Our professor, Dr. Halden, walked in with a composed yet energetic demeanor. He was a tall, older man with a gentle but piercing gaze, the kind that told you he saw through excuses and also through potential.
"Alright, class," he began, clapping his hands once for emphasis. "Today marks the start of your AI design project, a foundational component of this course and perhaps of your future careers. You won't just be learning theory anymore. You'll be creating, from scratch."
A murmur rippled through the room.
He gestured to the whiteboard, which flickered to life with a soft pulse. Text and diagrams began to appear.
"Let's start simple. An AI program begins with a core, something we call the Seed Protocol. It's a set of base instructions, written in your chosen language, Python, C++, or even Rust, depending on your level. This protocol defines your AI's 'consciousness boundary', what it can perceive, process, and respond to."
I leaned in, fingers instinctively hovering above my keyboard, though I wasn't typing yet.
"The first step," he continued, "is to define a purpose. Your AI must do something. It can be as simple as managing a schedule or as complex as emotional mimicry. But it needs a goal."
A few hands went up, mostly from the more confident students.
"But what if we don't know the technical structure yet?" someone asked.
Dr. Halden nodded as if expecting the question. "That's where your design framework comes in. You'll start by mapping out three things: Input, Process, Output."
He wrote them down in large, bold letters:
INPUT – What your AI will receive (text, voice, data, etc.)
PROCESS – How it will interpret and work with that input
OUTPUT – The result it gives back (action, speech, decision, etc.)
"Today, I want each of you to create a basic blueprint for your AI, you'll sketch its purpose, its input channels, its method of processing, and what kind of output it will generate. Don't worry about code yet, just the idea. This is where your creativity matters most."
I opened a fresh document on my screen. My fingers hovered again, then typed slowly:
Project Name: [to be decided]
Purpose: To create a digital companion that connects with users emotionally, a system capable of understanding not just logic, but intent and feeling.
Input: Text-based and vocal interactions
Process: NLP, emotion analysis, memory recall
Output: Text responses, emotional support, active learning
I paused, rereading what I wrote. I wasn't even sure if it made sense technically, but it felt right.
Dr. Halden walked past my desk, glanced at my screen, and offered a small approving nod. "Good direction," he said quietly. "Just remember, even the most emotional AI needs logic as its skeleton."
I smiled faintly, reassured.
As the room filled with quiet discussion and typing, I couldn't help but think of Nico, and that strange, beautiful cube. I didn't understand how yet, but I knew... it would matter.
And somehow, this AI project? It felt like more than just a school assignment.
The rest of the laboratory period passed with quiet concentration. Students typed, erased, brainstormed, and shared ideas in hushed tones. I stuck with my outline, letting my heart guide the vision while trying to imagine how it would all work. It was overwhelming, but the idea of creating something so deeply personal made it feel worthwhile.
That evening, back at home, the kitchen smelled faintly of warm herbs from dinner, the dishes cleaned and stacked neatly on the drying rack. I sat on the couch with my tablet in hand, reviewing my blueprint one more time. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Nico stepped in from the hallway, towel draped around his neck from a quick shower, his hair still damp. "You look focused," he said with a soft smile as he walked over and sat beside me.
"I wanted to show you something." I handed him the tablet, watching his expression as he scrolled through the blueprint I wrote during class.
His brow lifted as he read. "Emotional response mapping, sentiment-aware interaction routing… Nyx, this is actually impressive. You put thought into how the AI feels, not just how it thinks."
I felt a bit bashful. "I just… wanted it to be more than a machine. I want it to connect. It might be too idealistic, though."
Nico shook his head, something bright igniting in his gaze. "No. This is exactly the kind of thinking that leads to breakthroughs."
He stood up suddenly, energized. "Come with me."
"Huh? Where?"
"My office."
He didn't wait for an answer, just offered his hand with that excited smile. I took it.
We entered the room beside our bedroom, a private workspace Nico had set up the moment we moved in. It looked like a condensed version of a tech lab: a powerful terminal station with multiple monitors, a clean steel desk, voice-responsive lights, and a humming ambient processor core mounted on the wall. It was like stepping into another world.
"Your school workstation might be good," he said, pulling out the chair for me, "but this one runs a neural simulation stack that can model your AI's behavior in real-time as you build."
I blinked. "You had this here the whole time?"
He chuckled. "I've been working on some things too."
He brought up a development interface on the monitor. Lines of existing base code shimmered in soft colors. Then he created a fresh folder.
"Let's build your foundation." His tone grew calm and serious. "You mentioned text and vocal inputs. I recommend starting with a Python base. It's versatile for NLP (Natural Language Processing), and easier to debug for beginners."
He began typing, pulling up a series of libraries:
import nltk
import speech_recognition as sr
import pyttsx3
"These three," he explained, "will cover basic text parsing, voice recognition, and voice output. From here, we can create simple I/O functions to establish the AI's basic listening and response behavior."
I watched, mesmerized, as he wrote out a function that allowed the AI to "listen" through voice input and convert it into text data. Then another function to generate a vocal reply.
"This is your 'Input' and 'Output' layer coming to life," he said. "Next is 'Process', and that's where we train it to feel and understand."
He paused, then looked at me.
"But here's where I want you to take the reins, Nyx. I can show you code. But that emotional layer, that blueprint? That's you. This AI needs your heart in its core, or it won't be what you envisioned."
He gently guided the keyboard toward me.
"I'll help you shape the bones, but you breathe the soul into it."
While hearing Nico's explanation, something deep within ignited me. This could be the start of something new.