The Proper Use of Artificial Intelligence

Skye frantically grabbed the cup and poured its tea into her backpack to put out the fire. With a series of hissing sounds, all that remained in the air was the scorched stench of electronic components. She looked utterly bewildered, and Fitz and Simmons beside her were equally surprised. Though old and battered, that laptop had been with Skye for a long time.

Suddenly, she spotted the culprit. She cast the fiercest glare of her life at the Arcanist sitting nearby with a look of utter disdain. Agent Coulson let out a heavy sigh—Skye had only just gone through a crisis of trust not long ago. She had secretly contacted her ex-boyfriend from Rising Tide and been caught red-handed by Agent Melinda May. Now she was digging into the list again. This rookie was simply incapable of putting anyone at ease. Agent Melinda May glared at her once more, but this time Skye did not back down. Instead, she raised her neck like a foolish swan and thrust out her not-so-impressive chest, looking as though she might bare her teeth and pounce on Salomon at any moment.

Agent Melinda May silently increased the intensity of Skye’s upcoming physical training. She would make this foolish rookie cry.

"This matter…"

"It’s fine." Salomon did not act like a victim at all. "I’ll buy her a computer later."

Skye had intended to argue, only to find herself unable to form a single sentence. The words reached her lips but would not come out. Furious and embarrassed, her sun-tanned skin flushed red. Especially when she saw Salomon gloating, she scrunched up her nose in rage, looking exactly like a plump pufferfish about to explode.

Still, she had learned something from the last mission and did not directly confront Agent Melinda May. Of course, part of the reason was that her ex-boyfriend’s actions had left her feeling ashamed.

"Reckless people don’t survive in the world of magic, Coulson." Salomon’s voice could only be heard by those sitting beside him. "I hope you’ll notify me when you encounter magical incidents instead of acting on your own. You lack the ability to handle such matters. Nick Fury understands that now, and I hope you can understand it too."

"This is strange, Salomon," Agent Coulson said. "Normally, you wouldn’t say this much to me."

"Because you’ll save the world in the future."

Thanks to Master Wong’s appetite, after Coulson’s team left, Master Wong was still working on his second mandarin duck.

"Is that also something you saw through the Eye of Agamotto?" Master Wong rubbed his stomach, looking thoroughly satisfied. He had waited until Coulson’s team left to ask, because he did not want them to know too much.

There were not many people in Kamar-Taj who could use the Eye of Agamotto. In Master Wong’s view, it was not surprising at all that Salomon could use it. What surprised him was Salomon’s claim that several ordinary people could save the world. That was what truly astonished him.

Salomon gave an affirmative answer. "Not every crisis that destroys human civilization has anything to do with magic," he said. "The nuclear weapons currently in stock could blanket the entire Earth several times over. It’s far too easy for mortals to destroy themselves. Who knows what kind of mess they’ll come up with to wipe themselves out all over again? Agent Coulson and his team are quite skilled at dealing with crises caused by ordinary people. We might as well trust them and give them some help."

"You’re becoming as mysterious as the Sorcerer Supreme," Master Wong said, picking up a napkin and wiping his mouth. "What are you planning to do next? And that person who hacked your phone—I can tell your phone is newly bought."

"What else can I do? Pick up my girlfriend from work, of course! Come on, have them pack another serving. I’m going to deliver dinner!" Salomon said. "As for the other one, I’ve already ordered something nice from Stark. Since it wants to cooperate with me, it has to meet my conditions."

Salomon’s phone vibrated again.

Agreed… Creating 3D model…

"See? This is the proper use of artificial intelligence!" the Arcanist said smugly.

Since the angel anomaly could not be investigated for the time being, the Sorcerer Supreme finally agreed, after Salomon’s pleading, to give Bayonetta and Jeanne a long vacation so they could rest properly. Jeanne had been looking forward to this day for ages. She had just received her salary from Kamar-Taj, and now she could go shopping freely with Bayonetta. A primary school teacher’s salary was nowhere near enough for her spending habits, and she hated having all the household expenses paid for by Salomon. It made her deeply uncomfortable.

So uncomfortable that she wanted to smash Salomon’s stupid head in.

Bayonetta saw through Jeanne’s little thoughts completely. Every night when they went to bed, Jeanne would hold her and complain for a while. But Bayonetta did not point out the true source of Jeanne’s dissatisfaction, because she believed it would turn her best friend into an enraged hermit crab—one that would rush up to pinch Salomon whenever he appeared, refusing to let go until he screamed.

Just thinking about that ridiculous scene made Bayonetta laugh out loud.

No matter what, it was nice to enjoy the feeling of family for a while. These angels seemed likely to continue descending upon the Ether Plane without end, and Kamar-Taj would assign all that work to them. There was no need to worry about the household income. Bayonetta also disliked having Salomon cover all the family expenses, because she was the head of the household.

The good thing Salomon had ordered from Stark finally arrived. It was Stark Industries’ most advanced holographic projection device, and the entire thing was as large as a table. Salomon had needed four constructs stored in the City of Immortals just to carry it into the apartment—prompting another round of curses from Jeanne, who disliked the tremendous damage this heavy monstrosity would do to both the apartment floor and the electricity bill.

Once this thing was switched on, the electric meter might as well run backward.

Salomon placed his phone on the holographic projection device and activated every function. Amid heaps of overlapping color blocks writhing rapidly, a somewhat blurry figure made of blue points of light appeared on the device. The figure was only about an arm’s length tall, and its movements were somewhat jerky. Salomon felt that it was testing its ability to move, stretching its tiny arms and legs in every direction. As the progress bar slowly reached the end, the projection gradually became clearer, and the sound from the speakers changed from halting and broken to smooth.

In the end, an expressionless Thumbelina floated above the tabletop. Specks of color continuously spread upward from the hem of her skirt, giving her vivid colors and bright eyes. Then the figure blurred again, and Thumbelina’s face gained expressions much like those of a human—something she had learned through the camera, an algorithm for simulating emotion that she had newly acquired after gaining freedom. She reached out her tiny hand, wanting to touch Salomon. The Arcanist extended a finger as well, touching the illusory projection.

After complex calculations, a collision of volume occurred between the unreal and the real.

"What can I do for you, Sir?" she said.

"Save the world."