"Explain yourself."

Penny looked up at the cold, weary eyes of Manger. Lips curled up in a tired snarl. Dove lay unconscious beneath the deck, bound and treated, but with the materials they had, he still had yet to wake.

"I know you can hear me. What are you."

Her pet project had been relegated to managing the replacement sail. It was just her, the server box, facing up against the grizzled, gaunt figure of Manger. "My name is Penny."

"Not what I asked," spat Manger. "What are you, and why does that thing have his aura?"

"I am an artificial intelligence. And everything you said was right."

"Figures." He sighed as he looked at the broken body of Dove. She understood why. His mouth and nose were leaking blood. Based on just touch, she could feel that something broke in his torso. The barrel of his chest was distorted when Manger first pulled him from the water. Additional ribs cracked during resuscitation, but Manger assured her that was normal. The color of the water that emerged from his lungs were not. They were not able to stop the bleeding naturally, and her project only just figured out how to use the aura she had been forcing into it. With the stored aura, they were able to bring Dove's aura back to a level where his bleeding slowed. However, no progress was made on manually restoring his consciousness or his figure. "Not exactly what I meant though."

Her lens looked up at him. "What do you mean? I was hurting him."

"And? He wouldn't be this messed up if this wasn't a repeat injury. He didn't heal from the last fall he had, and this one made the last, worse."

"How do you know?"

"He told me," grunted Manger. "And when I said you were killing him, I meant mentally. Crippling him. Making it so if he ever found real human interaction, he'd be mangled. Unable to shift gears."

"After all, humans are creatures of habit."

"Exactly." Manger let his words settle on the surface of the water. "But since you're sentient, that changes things."

"How so?"

"How awkward and socially stilted was the boy when you met him."

She thought for a moment. "Quite."

"Sounds about right." Manger fished through his teeth with his tongue, as he digested the information. "How did you meet him?"

"He found the little hole I was squirreled away into. Intended to remain there until he found a reason to leave."

"And why did he leave?"

"We. We left because an outside agent made an offer for the hole."

"And waiting on the offer would have resulted in less than ideal results for the both of you." Ventured Manger.

"Indeed."

"And the pet project?"

"That involves the input of a man named Mister Skink."

"The name means nothing to me."

"Understood. Mister Skink was the pseudonym of a sergeant who managed a prison bunker. Controlled the bunker with fear and misinformation."

"Sounds like a nasty individual."

"One could say as much. He did what he believed was required."

"For his research?"

Penny took an additional millisecond to process. "I am not sure how shallow or how complex he was. He always took the time to explain just enough to discourage questions, and just enough to leave his audience in the dark."

"So, how is his nature responsible for that?" Asked Manger as he gestured towards the droid.

"He insisted that if I disliked inevitability, then I should attempt to circumnavigate it. Since it is an inevitability, I started on my project."

"Making that."

"Making that."

Manger shook his head in disbelief. "And the body? Did he provide that as well?"

"No, the body was obtained from the Wall?"

"Which wall?" Deadpanned Manger. "There are many walls."

"I believe that is dubbed the Stone Mile."

He held up his hand. "Hold up, what? One does not simply assault the Mile."

"Simply, we did not." Admitted Penny. "Details are not required, but that is the location from which we sourced the droid."

"Right." Manger watched as Dove's chest shuddered with each breath.

"He does not have much time."

"He really doesn't." Manger's stern face was one of profound acceptance. Sadness, yes, but not to a level which prevented him from acting. "Let's not pretend with the fishing mirage. We'll head straight for the coast. Any point in specific?"

"Potentially." Sated Penny. "Do you know of any sea cliffs overlooking the ocean?"

"You're going to need to be more specific."

"If you could, please look at this picture." Penny pulled up an image on her screen. "Do you recognize this scenery?"

Manger squinted at the image and nodded. "Somewhat. Been around the coast so many times that a lot of it merges together. But that should be only a forty-mile strip. That work for you?"

"That would be most excellent, Phillip Manger. Thank you for your assistance."

"You're welcome. Sorry for trying to kill you."

"Apology accepted. I understand."