The Question
“So, why don’t you think you’re human?”
There is No Prayer Gauge
My wife and I were discussing a tough conversation she was praying about, and she wondered aloud if she had prayed enough.
Dinner
They had arrived in the middle of the Dubai night, but they saw three times as many people in the streets as they had on New Barcelona. Sophia remarked that it was way better lit than her old neighborhood. Indeed, Dubai Colony’s capitol may have been the most opulent place 231 had been on a mission.
Distance
231 stepped onto the telepad just behind Sophia, trying not to think about his orders. The more he tried to put them out of his mind, the more he found himself focusing on them.
excerpt from recovered journal
I’m really grateful Marx didn’t get a chance to contact us within the hour, like he wanted to. I might have said something.
excerpt from recorded conversation
{analysis confirmed. voice match: Coordinator Adam Marx and Goliath 321}
Concern
It was frustrating. In every mission so far, he’d had problems he could overcome with tactics, weapons and equipment. Enemies he could attack physically and destroy.
excerpt from recovered journal
Back in training, they said we could have Goliath friends, but not human friends. That made sense. We couldn’t talk to humans the same way, couldn’t really have a conversation. The rumor was they used to be able to, back in the double-digits. And we all still remembered the birthday party they made us stop. They got too friendly, I guess.
People
“That was incredible,” 231 said, following her back into the yard. He looked back at the windows of the second-floor hallway where they had stood, surrounded by the images of her past. A breeze pressed against them as they stepped outside, coming from the direction of the telepad.
Agenda
Passage to Dubai Colony on short notice was not cheap. If the Goliath and the girl kept planet-hopping, Marx would have to start paying out of his own funds to keep Accounting from asking questions.