Chapter 10: Confrontation

Nobody likes confrontation, especially the unpleasant kind. What's worst is to create one out of necessity in a narrative. But that's what makes a novel interesting to read, more so if it's a character-driven one. It provides room for interplay and future story development as well, something that not even the writer himself is in full-control of. 

Which is a good thing too. So...

Wolf is old-school and would rather trust his own instinct and judgment than a machine when the lives of his men are at stake. That was his confession in Chapter 6 and it formed the basis for his inevitable showdown with David in this highly-charged chapter.

After some deliberating, I thought it would be good to bring in more characters onto the meeting table instead of just settling for a personal feud between the two (which would be kind of boring).

Another advantage, besides realism, is the opportunity to (once again) bring out the topic of artificial intelligence, its rapid evolution and implications to humanity, and the concerns people (like the paranoid Wolf) may display.

In the end, some compromise would have to come out of that high-pressure meeting, one that will set the tone for some future incidents involving David and HAVAH. Hey, I have to think ahead most of the time, even though I may not have any concrete idea at the moment. Perhaps that's what they meant by having your imaginations run wild.

But this chapter will not solely be just about the confrontation. There should be a sweet spot where readers get a whiff of fresh air, a reprieve if you would. And I believe you know which characters I have in mind.

It should also be time for David to reveal HAVAH to his friends to make way for more conversations that center around those topics of interest and concern for many of us caught in the grip of technological advancements.