"Today's the big day! Aren't you excited?"

Mila was practically bouncing around the apartment as Tae-joon looked over the code he'd been working on for the past week. He pulled the scratchy fabric of his new shirt away from his neck. If he'd been thinking ahead more, he would have washed the uniforms before he needed to wear one for the first time– but other priorities had been on his mind since he'd started the new job.

"Did Hammond really have to pick mousy brown for their uniforms? Anything else would have been better…"

As she complained, Mila was looking at her reflection on the glass surface of the stove top. The dull color really didn't mesh well with her auburn hair. Tae-joon wasn't paying attention to her fashion dilemma– he clicked compile and hoped that no errors would be returned this time. They needed to leave for work soon; if something wasn't right on this go, he'd have to spend another day working on it.

His sister finally lost interest in her reflection and made her way over to his desk, where she leaned on the back of Tae-joon's chair, looking over his shoulder. "Whatcha doing?"

"It's–" The programmer sighed. He supposed that this was as good a time as any to let her into the loop.

"It's a test," he said, "to determine if an AI is sentient."

Mila raised an eyebrow. "Like– a Turing test?"

"Heh– no," replied the programmer. "That only determines how well the AI passes as a human– and I've failed the Turing test. This is going to offer a choice; one that isn't based on any preexisting pattern. If the AI is able to make a decision, it would point to sentience."

"That's cool!" Mila grinned. "What made you come up with it?"

"Well– eum…" He sighed. "Revenant."

"Now you think Revenant is sentient? What happened to 'the last thing I want to do is follow you down this conspiracy rabbit hole?'" His younger sister narrowed her eyes at him. When she repeated his line, she made a point of imitating his voice as dull and monotone as she could manage.

"I don't think he's sentient," Tae-joon replied quickly– a little too quickly. Maybe it was himself that he was trying to convince. "I just– I want to know for sure. He said something… strange to me last week, the day we started on-the-job training."

Mila gave him an impatient look, one hand on her hip. "Okay– spill it already!"

"He said, 'Tyrell is not your friend.' A second later, Tyrell walked in, and– he was acting unusually friendly. That's odd for executives of a corporation this size, isn't it? New employees on the floor are usually invisible to higher-ups."

"Huh– I guess that is a little weird," she responded with a quick nod. "So! What are you going to do if he does turn out to be sentient?"

"Eum…"

Tae-joon leaned forward to let his chin rest on his hand. He hadn't thought of that while he'd been devising this program.

"You believed that Hammond could have a sentient AI before I did," he finally pointed out. "What were you planning to do?"

"I just kinda thought we'd be friends and go hang out at the mall, or the Museum of Science and Industry," Mila said enthusiastically. "Talk about deep, philosophical things like, 'what's the purpose of free will?' and 'what's the purpose of making our beds every morning when we're just going to have to un-make them at night anyway?'"

The programmer turned his chair away from his monitor, so that she could see his blank stare. "You– thought Hammond Robotics was going to let you take their robot on a sightseeing expedition?"

He laughed lightly, shaking his head. His sister shrugged dramatically. She had a goofy grin on her face.

An alert box popped up on his monitor, informing Tae-joon that his code had finished compiling without any errors. As he plugged a flash drive into his computer to copy it onto, he breathed a sigh of relief. Now that this was finished, he might finally be able to get a proper night's worth of sleep.

Of course, he had a full day ahead of him first. It was the day of the exhibition match, which he expected to be exhausting in terms of workload– but it would also be interesting. He put the flash drive in the inside pocket of his jacket, locked his computer, and headed to the door.

When Tae-joon and Mila arrived at work, there was a distinct air of frenzy and excitement. Employees from various departments were rushing around, loading vehicles and doing their best to keep everything in order. Several workers with lower security clearances lingered in the hallways, hoping that they would see something interesting.

He was somewhat surprised to find the woman who worked in the cubicle next to his sitting quietly at her desk, studying her fingernails. They were neon purple to match the highlights in her hair.

"Have you ever been to one of these?" She looked up at the programmer.

"Well– yeah," Tae-joon replied. "Never a venue this big…"

"Doesn't matter," said the other cybersecurity expert in a bored tone. "From hobbyist leagues to interplanetary championship matches, the whole 'hurry up and wait' thing stays the same. My advice? Find a place to stay out of the way and look busy. Let the ants do the scurrying."

Tae-joon could certainly relate on the ride to the arena. The bus that most of the team members were crammed onto had a narrow walkway separating rows of three seats on either side. It was a propulsion vehicle, typically traveling about twice the speed of its ground-based counterpart. Even so, conditions were cramped, and the trip was frustratingly long.

Mila sat next to the window, pointing out every interesting vehicle and skyscraper she could see with unreasonable enthusiasm for an early morning. Tae-joon had the middle seat, where he kept his arms folded across his chest in an effort to make himself as small as possible. On his other side was Natalie, the electrical engineer that he and Mila had met in the elevator during orientation– she had her nose in a textbook and headphones over her ears.

The bus was one of several corporate vehicles, traveling together like a convoy: senior employees and mid-level managers rode in a van that offered more comfort; high-end RVs provided luxury to executives; heavy trucks hauled equipment. When they finally arrived at the arena, circled around to the competitors' lot, and located their designated parking spaces, Tae-joon noticed several reporters hanging around. He was thankful that they weren't interested in him– they were looking for Revenant, or Tyrell and Narayan.

Competing teams arrived at the venue well before it opened to the public audience, so they didn't have to navigate through a massive crowd of people. A few particularly dedicated fans stood outside the perimeter fence, watching. Mila smiled and waved at them. A small child waved back.

Inside the building, people were scrambling to get ready. Tae-joon walked past the merchandise tables. Interns from Hammond Robotics were folding T-shirts and hoodies. Mila tapped her brother on the shoulder and pointed out a brightly-colored graphic of Revenant holding a scythe in one hand, beckoning the viewer with the other. Large block letters at the bottom of the image read AUTONOMOUS COMBAT SYSTEM.

"That isn't worth fifty credits," he said with a frown.

They made their way to the staging area. Each department's table was conveniently labeled with a sign: Engineering, Combat Analytics, Programming. Public Relations had the nicest accommodations, while Support Staff had a rickety table and a shortage of chairs. Narayan hustled around the room with a clipboard, muttering to himself. Here and there, he'd stop to give someone a task or instruction.

"Park, cybersecurity," Narayan called distractedly, pointing at Tae-joon without looking up from his clipboard. "Right here."

The project leader gestured to a chair at the end of the table. The instant Tae-joon sat down, an intern came running over to set a laptop in front of him. Narayan pulled a blank sticker off a sheet of paper attached to his clipboard, slapped it on the laptop, and hastily scribbled the programmer's name on it. Mila quietly slid into the chair next to her brother.

"Alexander, software engineering–"

In response to hearing her name called, Mila looked up at Narayan hopefully. He shook his head.

"You will be liaising with Combat Analytics today. Here." The manager pointed out a seat at their table. She gave Tae-joon a sad look before obediently moving where she was told. The chair she'd vacated was quickly taken over by the woman who worked in the neighboring cubicle.

"It's going to be an easy day," she said, brushing a strand of her purple-tinted hair away from her face. "We're here to make sure nobody hacks the robot– or our computer systems. The odds that anybody in this venue could pull that off are… let's just say low."

Tae-joon nodded. With all the sleepless nights he'd had over the past week, he had no problem with a low-intensity workload. As his computer booted up, he patted his jacket pocket to ensure that the flash drive he'd worked so hard on was still there.

The staging areas were fully surrounded with one-way glass. Tech teams had a clear view of what was going on in the cage; trade secrets were shielded from prying eyes. The cage itself was steel-frame, fully surrounded with fine wire mesh, which blocked electromagnetic interference. Sheets of plexiglass around the outside ensured that debris couldn't go flying from the cage and cause injury.

Through the glass enclosure of the staging area, Tae-joon had a clear view of the gaggle of reporters that accompanied Tyrell and Revenant as they crossed the arena floor. The director of research wore crisp white, in contrast with the dull brown uniforms of the other employees who were present. He appeared uniquely perfect as others rushed about in a sort of organized chaos. His body language was smooth and natural– clearly he'd had a lot of practice being interviewed.

The door to the staging area opened. Several security guards moved to block the reporters from getting inside. As soon as he was out of the public's line of sight, Tyrell slumped into a chair. The energetic façade that he put up for the press had vanished. He still didn't look nearly as disheveled as Narayan, who was still running around the room with his clipboard, collar ruffled and glasses crooked on his nose. Revenant took up a position in the corner, from which he had a clear view of the door and everybody in the room. It lasted for only a couple of minutes before one of the engineering technicians ordered him to get up on the worktable for pre-match diagnostics.

"Mr. Narayan," called the director, "you ensured that we won't win this fight too fast, right? Nobody likes it when the match appears one-sided."

"Hmmm? Oh– yes. Yes, sir," the other project leader replied hurriedly.

"Good, good." Tyrell gave a quick nod of approval. "A lot of our investors are here today– I need to put on a good show for them."

"Everything's set to run smoothly," a gruff voice assured. Tae-joon recognized one of the men he'd seen in the conference room at orientation– his bright green-and-blue spiky hair stood out.

"I appreciate that, Mr. Cade," replied Tyrell. Mila peeled around her laptop screen to give their boss a gleeful little wave.

Outside of the enclosure, the opposing team escorted their robot across the arena floor to their own staging area opposite the cage. Tae-joon raised an eyebrow– that robot had to be close to ten feet tall, right around the regulation limit. It was gleaming silver with orange accents, standing on spring-loaded digitigrade legs. Retractable plates on its arms partially concealed spinning blades. For an exhibition match that Tyrell was so confident in winning, the programmer thought, their adversary sure looked vicious.

The other cybersecurity expert gave him a pointed look from her position adjacent to him at the table. When he failed to notice, she loudly cleared her throat.

"You need to pretend you're doing your job, and not just admiring all the shiny toys," she informed him, pointing to the readouts on the screen that he was supposed to be monitoring. Her tone was more amused than commanding. Tae-joon nodded silently in answer.

They had the last of their equipment set up. Most of the staff had ceased their frantic rushing and found a place to sit quietly, or taken the opportunity to go grab a drink of water. The hurry up phase had ended for the time being– until it was time for the match to start, they were now in the wait phase.

A knock at the door of the staging area led to Tyrell and Narayan being called from the room to talk to more reporters. Tae-joon felt bad for Narayan– he seemed much more comfortable in a lab than in the spotlight. The programmer could relate.

Spectators were arriving, and the stadium was rapidly becoming noisier. The enclosure of the staging area muffled some of the sound from outside, but not all of it. A group of teenagers pressed their hands and noses up to the wall outside, making a futile effort to see through the one-way glass. As Tae-joon watched, his coworker knocked on the glass from the inside. She smirked when the kids jumped back, startled.

The door opened a few inches and one of the faculty staff poked his head in. "We're ready."

"All right," said Tyrell. "Revenant– let's go. Mr. Narayan, Ms. Kano– we're going to show our investors what makes us the best!"

The two project leaders and the manager of the combat analytics team accompanied the robot out of the staging area. Tyrell was last out, and closed the door behind the others. Upon seeing their champion approach the cage, the audience cheered wildly.

Revenant paced the length of the cage, glaring into the crowd. He finally came to a stop in his corner, where he was still, optics locked on his opponent. Tyrell, Narayan, and Kano stood just outside the cage, near its entrance. Kano was watching Revenant. Narayan's attention was fully directed toward his laptop. Tyrell's eyes scanned the audience, then he turned toward the crowd of reporters with a confident smile.

The opposing team's robot stepped into the cage from the other side. Their handlers looked nervous compared to the driver focus of Tyrell and his crew. Tae-joon watched in his peripheral vision, though he was careful to appear focused on the screen in front of him. Mila's interest in what was going on outside the staging area was much less subtle.

A voice boomed over the loudspeakers: "Jazari Corporation's newest cutting-edge creation, Praetor, versus Hammond Robotics' reigning champion, Revenant– are we ready to see some destructi-i-ion?!"

Cheers and excited shouts from the audience echoed through the stadium. Tae-joon quickly checked over his readouts. There was nothing out of the ordinary– no interference, no intrusive signals, nothing that shouldn't be there. It didn't appear that anyone was interested in messing with their equipment, at least for the time being. He looked over at his sister– her attention was on the arena, work that she was supposed to be doing unacknowledged in front of her.

"Three… two… one… FIGHT!"

The man doing the countdown leaped out of the cage and slammed the door shut behind him. Praetor was first to charge off the line. Revenant sidestepped the attack. He lunged low and grabbed the opponent's forward leg, which he used as leverage to topple Praetor to the ground.

"Revenant starting off strong," exclaimed the announcer. "Opening the show with the sort of body-control technique that made him famous– rarely seen in robot combat; a style of fighting often described in the media as 'just short of human!'"

Praetor was back up on its feet before Revenant's next blow struck. It pushed off the arena floor and, using the springs built into its legs to get extra height, backflipped over Revenant. Its arm outstretched and connected with his chest on the downward arc– the momentum of its body drove him off balance. He pivoted away and recovered to a kneeling position rather than being thrown to the ground. His left arm reconfigured into a stabbing weapon, which he drove up under Praetor's chest plates as he came up standing, putting the full power of his body into the strike.

Metal ground against metal with a harsh screech that had several people in the audience covering their ears. Sparks flew from the impact. Tyrell glanced at Narayan, wondering if the other project leader had failed him– a win this early would leave a lot of customers disappointed that they didn't get to witness more carnage.

Praetor wrapped one arm over top of Revenant's and pressed down hard, pinning him in that position. It dropped to a kneeling position, changing its center of gravity and pulling Revenant with it. Revenant's free hand reached for the wires and cables visible along the side of his opponent's neck. Praetor's other forearm maneuvered up and under Revenant's reach– at first glance it looked like a missed block, and another clear win for the champion. Instead of defending from Revenant's free arm, however, Praetor drove the outside edge of its forearm into the inner surface of the champion's pinned one. The spinning blade extended, and Praetor twisted its body into the maneuver with great force. The blade severed Revenant's arm above the elbow– Praetor extended both hands and shoved him away with force. His claws grazed his adversary's neck, leaving only superficial scratches before he staggered back as if stunned. Exposed cables and wires hung from what remained of his arm, sparking occasionally when the ends brushed past each other wrong.

Tyrell raised both eyebrows in disbelief. A moment later, his concerned expression was fixed on Kano, now vaguely worried that they could lose this match. She scanned the diagnostic readouts on her laptop and gave him a thumbs-up. The damage wasn't nearly enough to take their robot out of the fight.

"Mujh par bharosa rakho, my friend," Narayan muttered to Tyrell from the corner of his mouth. The director rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what that means."

"I tell you that you can trust me," replied Narayan with a slight smile. "When you ask me to do something, I do it. You can trust me."

The audience was certainly responding to the show of brutality. So were the workers at the Engineering and Combat Analytics tables– suddenly they were rushing all around the staging area as Tae-joon watched, tripping over each other in their hurry. One of the interns bumped into Mila as he ran by, causing her to spill the coffee she was drinking down her chin. She gave her brother a look that was somewhere between frustration and desperation. Tae-joon could only sink lower into his chair– he was safely out of the way in his corner of the Programming table, and there wasn't so much as a blip for cybersecurity to worry about. Nobody at this venue, so far, was interested in hacking their robot.

Revenant closed the distance to his opponent. He dropped low like he was going to attack its legs again– when it crouched to counter, he rapidly changed direction. His claws cut through the cables under the other robot's jaw and tore out a chunk of its face. Momentarily disoriented, Praetor stumbled toward Revenant. It had its arms raised in a blocking position, the blades in its forearms extended. As it recovered, it shifted forward deliberately, moving to lean into him with the spinning edges of the blades. He pivoted out of the way– as Praetor tried to follow, he wrapped his intact arm up and under the other robot's shoulder joint from behind. His hand dug into the back of its neck, and he leaned into the direction that Praetor was already turning, using its momentum to take them both to the ground.

It raised its forearms to block. The blades cut into Revenant's chest plating. The shower of sparks and the harsh grinding of metal didn't stop him. His own forearm transformed into a blade, which he aimed at Praetor's neck. He drove his body forward. The opponent's blades tore their way deeper into his chest– but it didn't matter, as he had sliced Praetor's head clean off its body.

The opponent robot went still. Sparks and arcing electricity from its severed wires dissipated, leaving the arena under a thick blanket of silence. Seconds later, that was shattered by the booming voice of the announcer:

"And Hammond Robotics' unstoppable killing machine has done it again! People– the reigning champion, Revenant, emerges victorious!"

With some difficulty, Revenant pried the other machine's blades out of his chest. Its limp arm fell to the floor with a clatter that rang out as he stood up. The sound was quickly drowned out by the roaring cheers of the audience. Cameras flashed from all sides of the cage. Narayan and Kano shook hands while Tyrell straightened the knot of his necktie, preparing for the photo op that was sure to follow. On the other side of the cage, Jazari Corporation's handlers exchanged disappointed looks and walked back into their staging area. The event security made a perimeter to keep spectators back as Revenant stepped out of the cage– wires exposed from the gouges in his chest sparked dangerously. On the stadium floor, Tyrell posed in front of him, arms folded across his chest and serious facial expression projecting confidence, as journalists and photographers crowded around them.

"Dr. Tyrell," said one of the reporters, "For the first minute there, it looked like the fight was going in Jazari's direction. Do you have any comments on that?"

The corners of the director's mouth pulled up into a slight smile. "Today was an excellent showcase of Revenant's adaptability," he replied. "That is what sets Hammond Robotics apart in this sport. Our robot isn't the biggest or most powerful– it's the most adaptive. Most of the competitors we see, all it takes is to cut the right wire, the right sensor, and they spiral into a sort of decoherence. Revenant, on the other hand, detects system anomalies and routes power around them, rewrites code to work around them on the spot… It's that sort of innovation that makes us the best at what we do."

With that, he turned away from the crowd and directed the machine back into the staging area. Narayan and Kano followed close behind– event security moved quickly to ensure that no reporters got inside.

"Diagnostics," Tyrell commanded. He pulled up a chair and sat down heavily, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Out of the spotlight, he didn't look nearly as imposing.

An engineering technician brought over a laptop and held it out so he could see the readout.

"The worst of the damage is electrical," said the tech. "I don't see anything that can't wait until tomorrow."

The director nodded. "I agree. All right– let's pack up all of this equipment and be ready to get back to headquarters. Make sure you get the other arm– we don't want our proprietary technology falling into the hands of some overzealous fan."

Somebody outside the staging area knocked on the door. Both men turned toward the sound.

"One of our investors," said Tyrell. "I'll go talk to him. Excellent work today, Mr. Narayan. After this performance, they'd better be planning to offer us a better deal when we renew our contract."

He clapped the other project leader on the shoulder as he made his way to the door. As soon as he'd disappeared from sight, Narayan glared after him, brushing at his jacket as if Tyrell had smeared dirt on it.

Mila shut down her laptop, coiled the cables, and returned them to the hard plastic case used to transport them as quickly as she could. As soon as she'd double-checked that everything was secure, she excitedly made her way over to Tae-joon's table and slid into the seat beside him. His purple-haired coworker had disappeared from sight.

"That was incredible," she exclaimed. "Did you see how Revenant ripped that other robot's head off? He was all like, 'oh, you can stab me, I don't care; I'm winning this fight here and now!' I hope I don't have to work with Combat Analytics next time, though. Those guys all talk way too fast and I can't understand half of what they're saying…"

"At the moment, you fit in with them," Tae-joon cut in with an amused smile. "How many coffees have you had today?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Mr. I-drink-energy-drinks-all-night-and-fall-asleep-on-my-keyboard," she retorted. Her brother laughed and shook his head.

"Not tonight," he assured her. "My project is finished, for the time being– I'm looking forward to a proper night's sleep."

With that, they got up and helped the other members of the Programming department put away the rest of the computers and other supplies. The drive back to the Hammond building didn't have nearly the same atmosphere of energy that there had been on the way to the arena. There was little chatter or fidgeting– everybody was tired after the day's work, and stayed relatively still in their seats.

Once more, Tae-joon was sandwiched between Mila and Natalie. His sister had fallen asleep with her head leaning against the window; Natalie again had her nose buried diligently in a textbook. Curiosity got the better of him, and he leaned forward to see what she was reading about– it was a book on the history of inventions and inventors.

When they arrived back at the Hammond building, the programmer headed for his workstation. He moved at a brisk pace, as quick as he could manage while remaining inconspicuous. At his desk, he absently rearranged file folders on his computer and re-checked the company security systems– whatever menial tasks he could do to appear busy while he waited for everybody else to head home for the night. A couple of people walked past him several times, putting away the cases of laptops that they'd brought to the venue. None of them paid any attention to Tae-joon.

The sounds of footsteps around him finally died out. He checked the time– just after 9:00 at night. As he stepped into the hallway, he caught sight of Narayan making his way toward the exit. The project leader glanced in his direction and waved good night before leaving.

"So!"

A loud voice behind the programmer neatly made him jump out of his shoes. He spun around to find Mila leaning her face toward his, grinning. "What are we doing now, TJ?"

"I thought you went home," he replied. Mila raised an eyebrow.

"Hell, no! This whole 'Hammond has a sentient robot' conspiracy was my idea! I'm seeing it through with you to the end."

Tae-joon shrugged. Part of him hoped that his sister wouldn't involve herself, but he couldn't say he was surprised. As he walked up to the heavy steel door and placed his palm on the scanner, he was glad to have her at his side. Last time he'd gone in this warehouse alone, it had been a creepy experience.

The door unlocked and swung open. Tae-joon froze in place with one foot in the doorway– he'd thought that everybody else had gone home for the night, and the warehouse would be empty. Instead, Natalie stared back at him with equal surprise, holding Narayan's remote control.

"Wh– what are you doing here?" she stammered. Tae-joon's mind went blank.

"I– eum…"

Mila rolled her eyes at the programmer.

"We're checking to see if Revenant changed any of his subroutines that the bosses are going to want changed back in the morning," she lied. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh– well, I'm… going to repair him," Natalie replied hesitantly. "I know we're supposed to let it wait until tomorrow, but– I don't think it's right, leaving him overnight in that condition."

Tae-joon responded with a quick nod. "These machines… can act very real."

"You know, Dr. Tyrell said those exact words to me…" Natalie frowned. "Do you know why we have thoughts, and feelings, and personalities, and all those other things that make us human? All those things are because of electricity, firing between neurons in different parts of our brains. Our consciousness and our emotions are electrical functions. Electricity is a unifying force that connects humans and machines– and that is very real."

"Wow," Mila exclaimed in awe, "that's incredible. You should write a paper!"

The engineer made a face. "No, thank you. I don't like writing. Building things is much more interesting."

Before the conversation could continue and distract her further, she turned her attention to the remote control in her hand. She entered a combination and flicked her thumb over a switch– the hidden section in the wall paneling retracted into the ceiling. Natalie stepped inside. It was a small, dark space, comparable to a large closet or a little shed. Revenant sat on a rudimentary metal bench built into the rear wall, watching the engineer and the two programmers behind her, waiting to see what would happen.

Tae-joon immediately felt uneasy with the machine watching him. Natalie had no such fear.

"Hello, Revenant," she said as she approached him. "I'm going to take a look at that– d'accord?"

Her hand gestured to the gouges in his chest. The machine followed her movement as she reached toward him. Her fingers were an inch away at most– faster than a human could react, he raised his arm and caught her wrist. A startled gasp escaped her. Tae-joon's breath, too, caught in his throat.

"Don't screw up," Revenant growled. He released his grip on Natalie's arm.

"I'll be careful," the engineer replied, giving a quick nod as an affirmation. "I promise."

She pried away the damaged plating, exposing the wiring and mechanisms underneath. Revenant paid close attention to what she was doing. Tae-joon could see the tension in his posture, like he was holding back from attacking her, putting an end to what she was doing… Natalie didn't seem to notice the reaction, or if she did, she didn't let it deter her. Slowly, cautiously, she reached inside his chest and disconnected several wires. When she withdrew her hand, the change in his demeanor was noticeable instantaneously. He appeared calmer, more relaxed.

"What did you just do…?"

"I deactivated some of your peripheral relays," the engineer replied, "so you won't feel me tinkering with your parts. Is that not standard procedure for the engineering staff?"

"You can feel what she's doing?" Tae-joon's eyebrows pulled together in a sort of vague confusion. "Do you feel the damage, too?"

Revenant glanced in his direction briefly, but did not answer. Mila elbowed her brother in the ribs, earning a disapproving grunt.

"Weren't you paying attention at the arena earlier, when Tyrell was giving his speech to the reporters? That's part of how he keeps fighting so flawlessly with missing limbs and stuff. He detects it and rewrites all his protocols for combat maneuvers around it instantly. I swear, TJ, you really have the observational skills of a toaster sometimes!"

"Does it… hurt?"

"Save your concern for someone who needs it, skinbag," Revenant growled at the programmer. Mila stifled a laugh under her breath. Tae-joon looked at her– she shrugged and smiled innocently. She couldn't help it; watching her uptight older brother get insulted by a robot was funny.

"Oh, for–! Where are my other pliers?" Natalie made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat as she sifted through her tool kit. "The mechanical engineers need to stop losing their own tools, then borrowing mine without asking. J'en ai marre!"

The engineer made her way to the exit with an air of frustration. "I'll be right back," she said before disappearing through the heavy industrial door.

Tae-joon glanced around the room once, on the off-chance that anyone else he wasn't expecting to run into tonight could be lurking. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, his attention focused on Revenant.

"Last time you spoke to me, you said, 'Tyrell is not your friend.' What did you mean by that?"

Several seconds passed, which turned into a full minute. The machine remained silent.

"Okay…" He sighed as he reached inside his jacket and retrieved the flash drive he'd been carrying since the early morning. The programmer held it up for Revenant to see.

"I made this for you," he said. "If you don't want Narayan and the software engineering staff to overwrite the changes you make to your subroutines anymore, the program I installed on this drive will give you full control to revert their updates instantaneously."

Tae-joon stepped forward just long enough to set the flash drive on the bench beside Revenant, after which he quickly backed away. The robot's glowing eyes followed his movement.

"It's your choice if you want to use it or not."

Tae-joon backed away and exited the warehouse, his sister following close behind him.

"That's what you meant by offering him a choice?!" Mila exclaimed once they were outside the building. "If he uses that program, do you have any idea how much extra work you just created for my department?"

"If that happens," the cybersecurity expert replied, "we'll know that he really is sentient."

"And then what?"

Mila tilted her head. Tae-joon returned her curious expression with a blank look.

"I don't know."