Chapman finished his story and looked at Brown.
Brown now understood everything.
Where Nerissa’s power came from, and why Chapman was so suspicious of Zahir Al-Muradi.
“I’ll find out,” Brown said simply.
Instead of answering, Chapman just gave a faint nod.
Just then, Nerissa quietly approached and filled Brown’s empty wine glass.
Seeing her, Chapman made a human expression for the first time.
It was an empty sadness.
“Do you find Nerissa amazing?”
At Chapman’s words, Brown looked at Nerissa, the robot who had attacked him.
No one could see a robot of that level in real life and not be amazed.
Chapman watched Brown’s reaction as he drank his wine.
“Yes. Did you make it, Doctor?”
“...Not all of it.”
“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
“It’s hard to tell you everything.”
Chapman was still hard to figure out.
Brown entrusted the flow of the conversation to Chapman and waited for his next words.
“She looks a lot like my wife, doesn’t she? My children used to say they had two moms, and they found it amazing.”
Brown had only seen Cathy and Kelly in a few video clips and photos, but it wasn't hard to imagine how much fun the children must have had.
“But my wife was scared of a machine that looked just like her. She told them not to play with Nerissa because it could be dangerous.”
Brown had experienced Nerissa's power firsthand and knew that Grace’s words were right.
‘What if… robots like that were used in war...’
“I warned the children about it many times, but it was no use.”
Brown had a strange feeling. It was as if Chapman was talking about a stranger he had known from a long time ago.
Chapman's calm tone, which may have been resignation, weighed on Brown's heart like a giant boulder.
“Kelly was still young, so she was especially attached to Nerissa.” Chapman pointed to a family photo on the wall.
“Cathy also liked how much she could learn from Nerissa.” Nerissa did not react to Chapman’s words and simply watched quietly.
“Grace asked if I couldn't at least change its face, but I… I wanted to make it in the image of the person I loved most in the world.”
Brown felt Chapman’s emotions pour out and reach him.
“Your wife… what kind of person was she?”
Brown asked cautiously. He had been with a woman with the intention of marriage, but they had broken up after a short time due to personality differences.
Brown asked cautiously.
He had dated a woman with the intention of marriage, but they had broken up a long time ago due to personality differences.
Seeing someone love as genuinely as Chapman did was unfamiliar to Brown.
He was curious about what makes people fall in love.
And he was also afraid of how to handle the emotions Chapman was about to pour out.
“I met my wife in America. It was at a cafe.”
Chapman’s expression as he recalled Grace was gentler than ever.
“It was when I was first creating Artistea. I was struggling because it wasn't going well, and my wife came over and handed me a cup of coffee.”
Brown, though feigning a nonchalant expression, was a little surprised inside.
'What would other people say if they knew Dr. Chapman was moved by such a small act of kindness…'
“So your wife approached you first. What did you talk about?”
Chapman stared intently at Brown.
As if to check whether Brown’s words were sincere.
“She comforted me. …Without understanding a single word I was saying…”
“How many people in the world could have a proper conversation with you about computer programming, Doctor?”
“Heheh… you too… you think I’m a genius?”
It was a strange question. Brown, having studied hacking, had a deep knowledge of programming.
He had never seen a genius like Chapman.
When he checked the code of the programs that circulated on the internet, said to have been made by Chapman, he could not help but be overwhelmed by his genius.
And what about Artistea, the achievement he had accomplished?
Artistea was now changing the lives of humanity.
Although there were reports of various problems arising from Chapman’s current absence from work, that was something that would be resolved once Chapman started working again.
“I respect you, Doctor. It was a great honor for me to have been able to meet you and listen to your lecture.”
He was sincere.
Even before he was assigned to Chapman’s security, Brown had looked up his broadcasts and read related books.
“To such a person… I… have committed a sin…”
He lowered his head.
He did not have the courage to look at Chapman right now.
“…Hah…”
Chapman looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.
“Alright, yes. Now, please give me the real explanation.”
“…”
“You don’t want to…?”
“…Will you be alright?”
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Chapman looked at Brown with serious and firm eyes and slowly nodded.
Brown steeled himself and began to lay out the true details of this tragedy.
“As you said, we monitored the research staff. The scope was… all the staff belonging to CAI and their families.”
“All the staff and their families? That Lennon fellow is crazy too.”
A momentary feeling of displeasure arose at Chapman insulting Lennon, who was like a faith to Brown, but his opponent was a man who had lost his family due to his own shortcomings.
'To cause others to be insulted as well… I can say nothing. Is this my justice…'
“However, cases like Karida Rashid, who had no immediate family in the US, were exceptions.”
He was worried it would sound like a lame excuse to Chapman.
“Right, she’s a bit strange. Smart and good at her job, but she’s not married at her age.”
Chapman stood up and walked to the window.
Rain was still pouring beyond the plate glass.
'To be considered smart by Dr. Chapman. Wealth, fame, ability, looks, and a good reputation from people, Karida Rashid really has it all.'
Chapman stood with his hands behind his back, just watching the falling rain.
“Dr. Rashid is a member of the Rashid family, which leads the giant Iraqi corporation, Aland. It probably would have been difficult to monitor her even if she had family in the US.”
He thought that Lennon might have taken some measures regarding Karida, but Brown didn't have the courage to ask.
Lennon’s word was always law to Brown, and unnecessary questions were not permitted.
“What? She’s Iraqi too?”
Chapman, turning at the word Iraq, looked at Brown with the face of a child who had solved a puzzle.
“You didn't know? I understand you worked with her for quite some time.”
According to Brown’s investigation, Karida was a core member who had been with the project since it was a club-level meeting, even before CAI was established.
“That has nothing to do with her skills, does it.”
His voice was disappointed.
Brown was afraid of how Chapman would react if he told him that Karida had been Zahir’s student.
Chapman turned back to watch the pouring rain.
“What? Ah… I see.”
Brown was beginning to understand Chapman a little.
'The type to only be interested in what he needs.'
“Karida was popular with people. I never understood it.”
Chapman moved closer to the window and breathed on it, fogging the glass.
“Isn’t Dr. Rashid a beauty, to the point of having fan clubs all over the world?"
Artistea, which controlled the entire castle, responded to Brown’s words.
“Shut up, Arti.”
Chapman said coldly to Artistea, who had interrupted the conversation.
He touched the fogged-up window with his finger and drew something.
“Ha, is she pretty? Looks aren't everything. You’ll know if you spend time with Karida. She doesn't care about other people’s feelings.”
Brown blinked, surprised at what he had just heard.
“What do you mean…”
“I told you earlier. She’s good at her job. Smart. Her ideas aren't bad. She tends to speak kindly, too.”
A shape began to appear in the drawing, but Chapman, as if displeased, frowned, wiped it away with his hand, and began to breathe on the window again.
“Isn’t that enough?”
Brown recalled memories of his old girlfriend. They were young, and full of dreams.
“Huh? She’s the type to force herself on others. Is that a good thing?”
Chapman said in an exaggerated voice, as if mocking Brown.
“Um… I’ve never thought about it.”
“She’s always the only one suffering, always the only one in pain. If she’s in pain, she can’t see that the people around her are having a hard time. I don’t understand why everyone likes someone like that.”
Brown, who had experienced how sharp Chapman’s analysis could be, did not take his words lightly.
However, he questioned whether Chapman was in a position to say such things.
“What? Is it strange for me to say this?”
Nerissa approached Chapman’s side.
It seemed she was trying to help Chapman’s drawing by breathing on the window.
Chapman, as if annoyed by even Nerissa’s approach, roughly pushed her away.
“No, sir. I was just thinking for a moment because I didn't understand what that felt like.”
Chapman, as if he himself was hurt by the push, clutched his hand. Nerissa still wore a faint smile, her expression unchanging.
“Right, but talking about a girl like that isn’t what’s important, is it? You have something much more important to tell me, Brown.”
As if the pain was gone, Chapman began to draw again.
“I… I’m sorry.” Brown apologized hastily.
“So, why was the surveillance breached? Wasn’t it a surveillance network set up by the CIA, the world’s best intelligence agency?”
The gaze of Chapman, who had suddenly turned around, sent a freezing chill through him.
“…It was Manuel.”
A cold feeling, as if a well-honed blade was running over his entire body.
“Manuel… you mean the bastard who stole my Artistea.”
After hearing Brown’s answer, Chapman began to focus on the window again.
Brown, who was usually the one interrogating, found himself laughing at his own situation.
“Yes, sir.”
“So, what did he do? Where did you find my family’s bodies, and how did they die?”
Circles and triangles of unknown meaning were drawn on the window.
Brown swallowed dryly.
“Manuel has been confirmed to have received a request from an organization called BaekSan.”
“BaekSan? I think I’ve heard that name somewhere.”
Chapman, pausing his hand for a moment, began to walk around the room.
“I cannot tell you everything about our system, but Manuel, as a CIA agent, passed on the weaknesses of our surveillance system to them.”
To reveal the weaknesses of the organization one belongs to.
That was the task Brown had to accomplish today.
“Weaknesses?”
Chapman approached the warm fireplace and beckoned Nerissa over.
Next to it was a large family photo.
It was a picture of a family wearing the happiest smiles in the world.
“To avoid being detected, we did not control the subjects’ private lives, but only observed. The day your wife took your daughters to meet an acquaintance, they got into a vehicle very naturally, right in front of our eyes, and then just… disappeared.”
'I feel like I've been stripped naked.'
“Nerissa, bring the chessboard.”
Chapman, without responding to Brown’s words, gave a sudden command.
As Nerissa quietly disappeared somewhere in the castle, Chapman shouted into the air.
“Arti! Play some music.”
Brown was struck again by how human Artistea’s tone and voice were.
For some reason, he felt a sense of dissonance, different from the voice of the Artistea he used.
“Something calm. I’m going to talk with Brown while we play some chess.”
A soft and beautiful melody began to flow throughout the castle.
“Elgar’s Salut d’Amour? Not bad.”
Chapman returned to his seat, pushed everything on the table to one side, and then flopped down onto the sofa.
“Do you play chess?”
Though Chapman’s intentions were completely unknown, Brown nodded.
“Then by any chance… when you were in Oxford, did you guys already know the system had been breached?”
While waiting for Nerissa, Chapman returned to the original topic.
Brown, caught off guard, flinched at the sudden question.
'How many times has he replayed the memory of that day?'
“Yes, sir. We were aware that there was a flaw in the surveillance network, and that it had already been breached once.”
Saliva kept pooling in Brown’s mouth.
“Arti!! The volume is too loud!! I can’t hear!”
Though the words were not directed at him, Brown felt his heart drop for a moment.
After Artistea’s calm and clear voice echoed, the music changed and began to play naturally.
“What, Humoresque? Dvo?ák?”
“No, it’s fine.”
The moment Chapman finished speaking, Nerissa was seen returning with a chessboard and other snacks.
“So slow.”
Chapman roughly snatched the chessboard from Nerissa’s hand and placed it on the table.
“You take white.”
“Understood.”
Brown was quite skilled at chess.
It had been a long time since he played, but he had never lost a single game in his school days.
While Brown and Chapman set up the pieces, Nerissa began to clean up the items that had fallen on the floor.
“Ready?”
Once everything was set up, Chapman moved a pawn one square forward.
Brown matched him by moving a pawn one square forward.
“The music has changed to Beethoven.”
“You seem to know your music well, sir.”
“It’s nothing. I don’t know if it’s to your taste, but it’s my house, so I’ll do as I please.”
Chapman replied, moving a second pawn forward.
All his attention seemed to be on the chessboard.
“I don’t know much about music, so anything is fine with me.”
Brown moved the pawn on the opposite side of Chapman’s.
“Really? I started listening as I got older. My wife liked it.”
Brown couldn’t say anything.
“So, it took you two years after losing their trail.”
The moment Brown captured one of Chapman’s pawns, Chapman spoke.
“I’m sorry. We had to re-examine all the clues.”
Brown was anxious, wondering if he had made a mistake.
'It feels like I shouldn't intentionally lose, nor should I win…'
“So?”
Chapman, as if bothered by the loss of his pawn, roughly stuffed the snacks Nerissa had brought into his mouth.
His tone seemed light and casual, but he couldn't let his guard down.
He didn't know when he might change and exploit his opening.
“It took a long time, but we confirmed that your family passed away overseas.”
Chapman’s bishop captured Brown’s knight.
Brown, having mentioned the word death again, glanced at Chapman.
At that moment, Brown’s rook threatened Chapman’s king.
Chapman captured Brown’s rook with his queen, and then, not missing the opportunity, launched a counterattack.
“Overseas? Where?”
The moment Bach’s ‘Air on the G String’ began to play, Brown found the best move for victory.
“Iraq.”
As he cornered Chapman’s king with a perfect strategy, Chapman shot up from his seat.
“Iraq!”
Chapman shouted, flipping the chessboard.
In his eyes, the flame that had been extinguished for two years was burning again.
A flame of hatred and conviction, of madness.
“Al-Muradi…!!! Zahir Al-Muradi, it’s him!!!”
As Chapman’s screams filled the entire castle, Nerissa gave him a sedative once again.
'Is Dr. Zahir Al-Muradi the kind of person who would kidnap and murder Dr. Chapman's family just because his paper was ignored?'
It wasn't that he couldn't understand.
Dr. Chapman must have used Artistea to find out everything he possibly could.
When Brown mentioned Iraq, the only person he could guess was Dr. Zahir.
After hearing Chapman's past story, Brown had promised to investigate Zahir, but a strange unease remained.
'If I had solved the case perfectly, if the doctor's family were still alive, would I not be seeing the doctor like this now? If I had noticed Manuel? Would the world that he and Artistea would have created be different from now?'
Brown felt as though he was holding a tangled ball of thread with no end.
One of the few people he respected in his life was now suffering right in front of him.
He was also aware that Artistea’s ethical standards were gradually collapsing.
He desperately wanted to solve this problem.
He couldn't bring back Chapman's lost family.
As a top senior agent, he had countless other tasks.
He decided to risk everything and use all the power he was granted to reveal the truth.
The thought that solving this case might determine the direction of humanity's future made him burn even more.
He spoke to Nerissa, who was helping the collapsed Chapman.
“I suppose we’ll have to finish our game of chess another time. A shame, it was my win.”
Artistea’s voice echoed throughout the castle.
“What do you mean?”
“Impossible. That was not the skill of a beginner. The Doctor must have taught you incorrectly, or you are lying.”
Brown helped move Dr. Chapman to his bed and then helped Nerissa clean up the messy floor.
As he turned his head in the direction of Artistea’s voice, a video began to play.
“Arti, so what is this called again?”
It was a screen showing the view from a camera on the ceiling.
Brown couldn't believe the content of the video playing before his eyes.
The date on the screen was clearly yesterday’s date.
Brown knew all too well that Artistea could not lie.
The Chapman in the video was also having a serious conversation with Artistea.
“What?”
Artistea switched the screen to show today’s game.
And it showed, in terms of probability, the next move Chapman could have made to turn the tables from the move Brown was certain would win.
“…You really know how to make a man feel pathetic.”
“Are you a different entity from the Artistea I use? Why is your speaking style so different?” He wanted to confirm the sense of unease he had felt from Artistea’s voice.
'If it’s a different entity from the Artistea on my phone, could it be lying?'
'Does that mean what I think it means.'
“Is it just my imagination. Anyway, take good care of the Doctor.”
Brown smiled.
Chapter 15 (1). We are entering the mind of Dr. Chapman and his castle. The atmosphere here is different—quieter, but heavier.
[Important Note] This is the calm before the storm. The next upload, Chapter 15 (End), will be the Grand Finale of Part 1. It will cover the arrest, the truth behind the conspiracy, and Brown's awakening. Please look forward to it!
[For those who can't wait] Part 1 (Chapters 0-15) is already fully completed. If you want to finish the entire arc right now: ?? Amazon Kindle / Google Books — Search: Artistea: The Indelible Reminiscence
Next upload (Part 1 Finale): ?? 2026-01-14