The poor AI had not made an appearance during the hours-long trek down the tree. Only whenever someone requested her, or to shine a light on a particular dark patch would she project some light from someone's bracelet. She never fully hologrammed as a person though, which seemed to emphasise her gloomy mood towards the others.<br/><br/>When they'd reached the bottom, she appeared again and hovered over the thick black goo that had been announced deadly by Akris.<br/><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"Why does he need boobytraps if everything out there is dead already? Besides, this black goo pretty much deters any wildlife for coming to the base. Which is precisely one of the reasons the division wanted to settle above it. Akris, what are you guys protecting yourself against? Who is in there? How many people have survived, and what has happened?"</span><br/><br/>Evy listened as her mistress was asking the same questions.<br/><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"Yes, Akris... Why is the power down? The base should be deriving power from the anaerobic<a class="externalLink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_decomposition" target="_blank"> </a>decomposition on the forest floor. A very ancient way of gathering energy nonetheless, but sufficient enough to power the entire base for centuries."</span><br/><br/>Evy flickered and reappeared in front of the glass door of the mirrored-glass cube. Trying to peer inside.<br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"Where... Where is Argon? The AI of this place?"</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>