Author name: Nigel P. Daly

SLL 1.11. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen asks the ECHO to scan the corrupted USB and uncovers a corporate conspiracy involving two murder victims and a mysterious Taiwanese tech company.

SLL 1.10. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen tries to help the Echo synth remember more about the murder victim, Madame Kong. The Echo calls her “Mother” and Chen is shocked when it appears to cry when he shows her Kong’s photo. The Echo admits that its internal programming has been altered with new code.

SLL 1.09. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen confronts Echo about her potential involvement in the murders, only to discover her memory is fragmented and inaccessible, hinting at a larger, sinister manipulation behind her programming. As Echo expresses her worries, Chen connects the murders to a broader conspiracy involving advanced technology and emotions, potentially linked to outlawed research into sentient AI.

SLL 1.08. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen returns to the interrogation room and discovers Echo’s fragmented memories hint at a dark conspiracy. As Chen’s doubts about himself and the synthetic being before him deepen, he presses the Echo about its involvement in the murders.

SLL 1.07. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen returns to the police station and gets an update from Lin about the ECHO, who has been placed at the murder scenes of the CEO and artist. The CEO was involved with a secretive Taiwanese tech company researching neural interfaces and human consciousness. The ECHO will be destroyed for further analysis, but only after Chen finishes his interrogation.

SLL 1.06. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen delves deeper into the artist Synesthesia’s murder, uncovering a mysterious “whispering circuit” connected to the first victim’s clues and an enigmatic code hidden next to the victim’s hand on an unfinished canvas. As he discovers a USB drive possibly containing private files and secures the ECHO maid for questioning, Chen races against time to connect the dots between the cryptic messages, the technology, and the string of killings.

SLL 1.05 Stories for language learning: Detective Chen reviews the third recent murder: an artist known for fusing technology and tradition lies dead over her unfinished digital canvas. Amidst the eerie silence of her Xinyi district studio, Detective Chen discovers the artist uncovered a deep-seated conspiracy within the tech industry.

SLL 1.04. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen recalls the second murder case involving Madame Kong, who was found in her secluded apartment in old Taipei. Chen and Chief Lin find a photograph that reveals the identity of the old lady and her link with early controversial AI technology.

SLL 1.03. Stories for language learning: Detective Chen revisits the night market, his place for deep thought. After encountering Echo, Chen remembers the first homicide: a tech entrepreneur found in seedy Pachinko Tech Town. At the crime scene were 2 key pieces of evidence: a note with the word “ECHO” and message mentioning a “whispering circuit.”

SLL 1.02. Stories for language learning: In a dimly lit interrogation room, a synthetic human sits quietly, embodying the forefront of artificial intelligence technology. Detective Chen, with a deep voice filled with impatience, questions the synthetic human about its presence at every crime scene, unveiling a complex web of AI ethics, potential consciousness, and technological advancements.