I shrug, glancing around. “Sarah asked me to come in. She said you guys were stuck on some clutter-adaptation thing with the robot. Or… I dunno. Something about it bugging out when people move through the room.”
“What?” Lincoln just stares at me confused.
“Do you guysnotcommunicate?” I ask, half-joking. “She made it sound urgent. And she said my schedule's flexible. Just thirty minutes of me walking around, shifting stuff. Figured I’d help.”
Lincoln freezes. His jaw tightens.
“She told you that?” he asks, voice sharp now.
“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Why? Is that not what’s going on?”
Lincoln doesn’t answer right away. He glances toward the testing chamber wing, then back at me.
Now I'm feeling creeped out.
"Come on. Walk with me," Lincoln says.
We fall into step together, Morris’s carrier wheels clicking softly on the polished floor. I'm glad I bought this for him. This way he can still look out and have fresh air, so it's like he's on the cart but in his own little bed.
"Sarah didn’t clear this with me. Or anyone, far as I know," Lincoln says.
"What the hell is going on…" Lincoln mutters under his breath.
We reach the chamber door. It’s already ajar. Inside, Sarah stands at the control panel, back to us, prepping the sim.
Lincoln pushes the door fully open.
She turns, tablet in hand. “Hm?”
She looks confused.
That makes two of us.
“You asked her to come in for afresh human inputsession?” Lincoln cuts in. “On a Saturday? Without running it by me?”
Sarah shrugs, unfazed. “We’re on a tight clock, Lincoln. I figured if we could get one more quick run with a completely unfamiliarperson, we might finally confirm the reweighting works before Monday. Proper channels take too long. You know how he is.”
“Did you even apply the fix first?” Lincoln asks, voice sharp.
Sarah nods. “Tom already ran the patch. It’s in. We just need to see if it holds with a fresh profile.”
Honestly, I have no idea what the hell they're talking about.
They both argue back and forth as I just stand here looking like an idiot.
"… And youreallyinsist this can’t wait till Monday?” Lincoln asks.
Sarah lets out a soft laugh. "Again, it is theweekend. Channels are slow. We’re on aclock, Lincoln. You know that. And something tells me based on how stressed you look, that it's about to be some bullshit with the boss. Right? Is he riding your ass?"
Lincoln glances at me, then back at Sarah.
The air feels thick.
"You don’t have to do this," Lincoln says to me gently.
"It’s fine," I say, shrugging, uneasy now. "If it helps…"
Sarah smiles wider. "See? Everyone wins. Let’s get started," Sarah says.
