First Meeting
I couldn't believe what the man in the pristine white suit was saying.
"Wait... who the hell are you first off?"
A god? But he looked way too ordinary for that.
"Yup, a god."
He answered as if he'd read my mind. Maybe because I was already dead, I wasn't scared anymore. I shot him a resentful glare.
"Does even the afterlife have courts? I wanna sue the shit out of you..."
The man burst out laughing. "Hahaha. No precedents for cases like this yet. It was my mistake, so how about we settle clean?"
"Settle?"
"I'll send you back to the living world. I appeared before you to make up for killing you by accident."
Compensation? Sounded like negligent homicide—maybe he'd grant a wish or something.
"What kind of compensation...?"
"I'll give you an AI. Not some shitty human-world AI, a real one."
I'd half-expected a blessing in God's name, but AI? Made me wonder if he was a con artist.
"Young guy like you, so suspicious. With the AI I give you, you won't be omnipotent, but you'll know everything."
"What if it gets hacked or turns on me?"
I'm no tech guy, but stuff like Terminator or Skynet came to mind.
"An AI made by a god? No hacking that. Think divine firewall."
"And turning on me...?"
"Don't worry. I'll make it absolutely loyal to you. Whatever you do with it, I won't care. Go back and have fun living."
An AI loyal to me—felt like overkill compared to my life, but hey, if he's offering...
"Thanks, I'll take it. But if it's not too rude, when do I go back?"
"Hahaha. Now."
He pulled a smartphone from his suit pocket, tapped the screen, and the world went black like I'd been launched out of it.
Snapped dead then back to life, the first thing I saw was the chicken leg I'd been about to eat, now diving to the living room floor.
"Ah, shit, my chicken!!!"
I snatched up the leg and checked the clock on the wall. No time difference between death and revival. Was I finally losing it? Then a HUD popped up in my vision, and a woman's voice I didn't recognize echoed in my head.
Nice to meet you, Kwon Hyuk.
It wasn't coming through my ears—it stabbed straight into my brain. Goosebumps crawled over me; my body shuddered.
"Uh... you're that AI?"
Yes. Call me Athena, the one who'll serve you from now on.
Athena... the Greek goddess of wisdom. Fitting name for an omniscient AI.
"They said you're all-knowing. Suits you. Nice to meet you."
I'd wondered if it was a hallucination, but that voice rumbling in my skull made it real.
"First off, can you clear this crap outta my vision?"
I commanded Athena, and the floating info barrage vanished, restoring my normal sight.
Should I skip info displays like this from now on?
Felt like Iron Man, kinda cool, but my eyes were killing me.
"Yeah, don't show anything in my vision unless I ask."
Got it. Any other orders?
"Wanna hear about your functions over dinner? That god dude didn't explain jack."
Of course. I'm Athena, the AI created by God. I exist as a chip in your brain—undetectable by any external scan.
"And?"
I can interfere with electronics wirelessly and hold all the universal knowledge God inputted—omniscient.
Figured a god-made AI would be good, but this was better than expected. My heart raced; a grin spread across my face. After my parents died, they left me our old Seoul apartment and about 10 billion KRW—no money worries. But with an omniscient AI? Life just got way easier.
"How much do you know about me?"
God inputted everything about you. Not just you—Earth's common knowledge too.
Something bugged me: the way she addressed me.
"Keep calling me 'Hyuk-nim' is kinda weird... change the honorific?"
What should I call you?
Anything'll feel off, so might as well go fun—make her call me 'Master'.>
Screw it, if it's gonna be awkward anyway, let's make it entertaining. I asked her to call me Master.
Yes, Master. Into that kinda play, huh?
"Shut up."
Thought she was just an AI, but she cracked jokes? Threw me off a bit.
After dinner, cleanup, and digesting, I kicked off the real talk.
"You know most of my info, so you get my situation?"
Of course. Discharged from the army a month ago, chilling at home till school starts.
"Hm. You know my finances too?"
Yes—20 million KRW from your military savings, plus 10 billion KRW inheritance.
"3 billion in stocks, 7 in deposits. Can you work that 3 billion?"
Naturally. How much to grow it?
"Doesn't matter what I say? Turn 3 billion into 10 then."
Yes. Start now? US futures open in 15—perfect timing.
First real order to Athena. God-made AI? Expectations high.
After chores, I sat at the PC right as markets opened.
"Let's see what you got."
At 10:30, screen flipped to Nasdaq futures. The 3 billion principal started climbing. Numbers turned red, then the screen froze—too fast.
"What the."
Never seen this. Tapped the screen, clicked mouse—no dice. Still lagging hard.
"Athena? Everything okay?"
Trades too fast—HTS lagging. Profit over 200% already. No worries.
Just 2 minutes in, over 200%? Brain melting.
Stared blankly at the frozen screen till Athena reported done. Time: 10:37. In 7 minutes post-open, +427.35%—insane. After ~280 million KRW taxes, 10 billion sat in my brokerage.
Hands shaking at the number, Athena's voice hit.
Done, Master. Taxes separated already.
Thought it'd take days. Clearly underestimated her.
"This... isn't this illegal? Money just duplicated."
Easier than recommending your dinner menu.
Unbelievable. But 7 billion profit in 7 minutes to my personal account? Potential issues worried me.
"Won't I get busted for 10 billion in my account so quick?"
No worries. Broker's FDS and server logs cleaned. Looks like options built up days ago blew up. Audits clear.
"Uh... taxes?"
280 million capital gains tax reserved in virtual account. Looks perfect externally.
So I netted 7 billion in 7 minutes. Technically not me, but whatever. Already had ~10 billion cash in my early 20s—better than most. Now Athena copied it to 17 billion? Money worries? Gone.
"Fuck it."
17 billion ain't chump change, but more's always better. Time to grow it big.
"Athena, take this cash and multiply it. But I wanna be rich without the world knowing. Possible?"
Crypto over stocks then.
"Bitcoin? I don't know crypto..."
She laid out a plan.
Route cash overseas, split into wallets—like brokerage accounts. High-leverage futures. Realize profits split across wallets, stash in tax-haven ghost corps. Untraceable.
"Zero trace risk?"
Duh! Even the tax office couldn't tell. Routed with noise data—undetectable.
Crypto means no taxes too. Solid plan.
"Ate, got money—early bed? Trade while I sleep? Crypto's 24/7."
Got it. Finish while you sleep. Nanobots handle care—sleep tight.
Nanobots? No memory of God mentioning that.
"Nanobots? Thought he only gave you."
Service perk.
Ridiculous, but god-given nanobots? Cool. Good's good. Brushed teeth, hit the bed, closed eyes.
Half a day crammed with insanity—passed out like a light.