A grumpy man with no broken violin

Dr. Elias Monroe watches on as the defeated grey building gets torn down, piece by piece, into a pulp of concrete. The structure in question is none other than the now defunct Research Institute of AI, facing the Atlantic coast of Port Saint Lucie.

-Fuck- Monroe whispered to himself.

Perhaps it was the pent up frustration of watching the building in which his mentors taught him to be a researcher get demolished right in front of his eyes that made Monroe curse into the void. Or, perhaps, he remembered that he forgot his broken violin at home.

Two strings had gotten loose on his favourite instrument, and such a travesty would not stand in his eyes. Then again, the Institute wasn't doing much better. -Nevermind- he says to himself aloud. Saying stuff like this for the world to hear did help in calming his nerves... At least for a while. But the word "fuck" still ping-ponged across his brain, like a neural echo.

-Monroe, you bastard!

Dr. Elias Monroe looks to his left in search of the screaming maniac.

-You're hard to find for your age and fame. It's like you don't know what a meeting point is.

Monroe was now face to face with a tall and elegant man, wearing a polished black suit and a red tie. He couldn't deny to himself that the man's smile was enchanting, even if he is too grumpy to admit it.

-I'm Gabriel Johnson, we've been on a few calls together the past few weeks.

-We sure have- Monroe retorts -Do you have it?

-Of course sir- Johnson's politeness did not delight Dr. Monroe in the slightest. He knew that nowadays, people weren't polite to you unless they wanted something. But he is no psychologist. No matter how menacingly he looked at energetic Mr. Johnson, he didn't seem to budge.

Johnson takes out a pendrive from his black case. As the sun rises in the sky, the drive passes to one hand, and a fat pile of cash passes to the other. -T'is done- says Johnson in a fake british accent, trying to amuse the old doctor. He doesn't even smirk.

-You have a long journey ahead of you, isn't that right proffesor?

-I sure do,- says Monroe, as if trying to rhyme with himself -to the other side of the world and back.

Johnson looks at the demolished building, already being devoured by the rising tide.

-Must be hard to watch.

-It's harder to be reminded of how long ago it was... Over 30 years.

-I was just a baby!- Johnson begins to giggle.

Monroe, the Dr. Monroe, the world-renowned AI scientist, the revolutionary genius that engineer a new industrial revolution, he finally formed a half smile across his face.

-In a way... In a way, I was too. I sure was...

The two men parted ways as the sun claimed his throne on the sky, and the ashes of the forgotten building were claimed by the elements. History would not remember this moment, they both thought, just a blink in the story of everything. But a million things can kick off into motion in just the blink of an eye...

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