The rain hits the metal roof like distant gunfire. A single bulb swings over a steel table.
Solid Snake leans back in his chair, bandana tied tight. Across from him, perfectly composed, sits Andrew Tate — tailored suit, sharp smile.
Tate: So you’re the legendary soldier. They say you survived Shadow Moses. But tell me, Snake — what’s your degree in? Warfare? Or was that self-taught?
Snake: Survival. It’s a full-time curriculum. No tuition. High dropout rate.
Tate (smirks): I run University.com. I teach men how to escape the matrix. Finance. Discipline. Power. Real-world education.
Snake: A subscription isn’t a university.
Tate: And crawling through air vents is?
Snake: Depends what you’re trying to escape.
Snake slides a small tablet across the table. On the screen: AIDD.org.
Tate: AIDD? What’s that — Anti-Illusion Digital Defense?
Snake: Artificial Intelligence Defense & Deterrence. Open-source education. Critical thinking. No gurus. No Bugattis required.
Tate (leans forward): You’re teaching people to think for themselves?
Snake: That’s the idea.
Tate: That’s dangerous. Confused men need direction.
Snake: Or they need tools. Big difference.
Tate: My university teaches men how to win.
Snake: Win what?
Tate: Money. Influence. Freedom.
Snake: Freedom isn’t something you sell monthly.
Tate adjusts his cufflinks.
Tate: You think your non-profit can compete with my platform? I have marketing. Affiliates. Scale.
Snake: I have skepticism. That scales too.
Tate: You don’t even charge.
Snake: Exactly.
Silence.
Tate: Let me guess. You think I’m the system.
Snake: I think you’re a boss battle. Every era has one.
Tate (laughs): And what’s your win condition, soldier?
Snake: When people don’t need either of us.
The light flickers.
Tate: You and I, Snake — we both run universities. But mine builds kings.
Snake: Mine builds operators.
Tate: Same thing.
Snake: Not even close.
Snake stands.
Snake: A real education teaches you how to walk away.
Tate: From what?
Snake: From anyone who says they have all the answers.
Snake disappears into the shadows.
Tate watches the doorway, thoughtful for the first time.
Tate (quietly): Hm. Maybe I should add a philosophy module.
The bulb keeps swinging.