“Their system is air gapped,” Sera explained. “But they’ll have to connect to the robot’s core to check what went wrong, and that’s how we’ll get the data. It’s the perfect plan—and its only weakness is that they know I’m here and I tried to get inside the company. They’ll be on the lookout.”
Motori nodded. “I say the woman who recognized you is Reina Zenkyoza. She’s the youngest of the three Zenkyoza heiresses and the black sheep of the family. I think she has good reasons to hate you.”
Sera frowned. “They all have good reasons to hate me. Why Reina in particular?”
Motori’s white teeth flashed in a sharp smile.
“Well, rumor has it she’s the one responsible for the company’s public image. There was a scandal with her about a year ago. She got drunk at a party with male hosts—you know host clubs? Hosts are handsome young men who are hired to charm women and get them to order drinks. Well, she was so out of it, she told one of the hosts her father threatened to disown her if she doesn’t do a better job with the PR. He’s constantly disappointed in her. I bet Reina hates you for turning her into a failure in her father’s eyes.”
Sera thought about it, nodding without much conviction. “But—would she kill for her father’s approval? Really?”
“People are ready to kill for more trivial things,” Isamu said. “If Reina believes getting rid of you will make her father finallyproud of her, she’s going to try her best. Hide your face from cameras tomorrow. Don’t let anyone know who you are.”
Sera nodded with a bright smile. “Aww, you’re worried about me!”
The tanuki snorted. “I’m worried about Dean, and you two are a package deal. It’s probably a good time to mention the walls of your shack are not soundproof. Not at all.”
Sera blushed, shooting me a quick look, and I put my arm around her shoulders with a grin.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll play some music next time to cover your moans.”
She groaned and jabbed my side with her elbow, though gently. She learned her lesson and knew it would hurt her more than me.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow,” she said, clearly trying to change the topic. “If we succeed, the impact will be enormous! If Zenkyoza falls, the landscape of robot production will be altered forever. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, I’m so excited.”
“I find it surprising you could sleep until now, considering all the calls for help you’ve been forced to ignore since you came here,” Gokiburi said loud enough to carry, her face still trained on her work, though I knew her cameras had a clear view of Sera’s face. She’d been silent until now, seemingly uninterested in our conversation.
Sera’s fingers spasmed in her lap. “What do you mean?”
Gokiburi looked up with a fake expression of surprise on her face. “Oh, don’t you know? A blind girl killed herself because of her overprotective robot assistant. The official story says the parents are to blame, and you’re needed to set it straight. Becauseobviouslyit’s the machine’s fault, right?”
“Give her a break,” Motori said, and to my surprise, Isamu nodded.
“How is Sera supposed to help? She’s not even there,” he said, grabbing another can of beer.
But Sera was already scrolling through the news, her posture hunched in tension. “Her name was Julia. They say the parents jailbroke the robot, but they always say that,” she muttered, scrolling fast. “It was a Zenkyoza model, of course. One of the new ones that look like giant teddy bears. It was the girl’s vision aid but the parents… It says they were overprotective. She was homeschooled, wasn’t allowed visits from friends. The robot was her jailer, and she slit her wrists when she lost hope for freedom.”
“Where is Sera Evans?”Gokiburi said, her voice changing to one of the generic AI voiceover ones.“We need the truth, and the only person who isn’t afraid to dig it up is gone! Justice for Julia!”
“What’s your problem?” I asked, not even trying to hide my hostility.
“Her activism is a threat to my survival, and once your mission is complete, I will be at risk,” Gokiburi said cooly. “Your owner is going to betray us to win back her following after she gets what she wants. I ran scenarios, and it’s the only way for her not to lose face. I’ll be collateral damage, because once I’m discovered, I am going to die. It makes me angry.”
Sera looked up from her phone, staring at Gokiburi with genuine surprise. “I’d never do that! What are you even… You don’t know me! I don’t betray…” She fell silent, pursing her lips, and shook her head. “I won’t betray you.”
“No?” Gokiburi smiled, and there was something spiteful in that smile. I pressed Sera closer to my side as if that would protecther. “When it gets out that you’ve not just hired aclankerbut also befriended andfuckedone, oh, human girl, you will doanythingto stop the hate. Those people who worship you are vicious, and once they smell blood, you’ll be helpless. Your only way out will be to say you did that to spy on rogue robots, and to prove that, you’ll sell us out. You’ll be a heroine again, and we’ll be disassembled, our cores wiped clean and dumped here. It’s perfect, no?”
“She won’t do that,” I said, even though Gokiburi’s words sounded painfully logical. But Sera wasn’t like that, was she? She didn’t hurt people for her own gain.
But does Sera Evans truly believe you’re a person?
“Just wait, little pup. And remember I told you so when she sells you out.”
My memory algo served a few lines from Sera’s articles.
“Protect the planet and recycle your robot.”
“Smart technology cannot be trusted to keep you and your family safe.”
