Rich looked over his shoulder at the exterior of the ship, a craft that, unlike its surroundings, appeared designed with meticulous care. It was a beacon of the beauty of human design and technological achievement. It shared the same chrome sheen that James’s enhanced body’s skin did, and the back end seemed to rest on its haunches, as though it were a metallic animal—a predator ready to pounce, its nose close to the ground. It seemed as though it were an extension of James, as though it were a part of him, watching over his friends while the man himself watched over them through Rich’s and Djanet’s mind’s eyes.
Rich shrugged, a faint expression of pride on his face. “I got a guy.” Then he turned to Neirbo. “You look annoyed, as usual,” he observed.
“As usual?” Neirbo reacted, his lips pulling back to reveal aggressively clenched teeth. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve never met you.” His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the post-human.
“Nothing,” Rich shrugged and smiled. “Just, you know, don’t look so glum.”
Neirbo sneered. “I was hoping someone else in particular might have chosen to be part of your small contingent,” he said, icily.
“He’s talking about Old-timer,” James informed Rich through the mind’s eye. “He enacted a little retribution on Neirbo.”
“Oh,” Rich said in a low tone before commenting, “Good for Old-timer. I’m envious.”
Neirbo’s eyebrows knitted together as he scrutinized Rich’s unusual eye movements. “Is that your A.I. god speaking in your ear,” he asked, “or the superman abomination?”
Rich’s eyebrows arched. “No, no worries.” He tapped his temple, feigning that he was watching something. “The 49ers are playing. Fourth quarter, you know, and I never miss a game, but you’ve got like, 81 percent of my full attention, I promise.”
Neirbo’s expression remained unimpressed as he kept his eyes locked on Rich. “Your attempts at humor are woeful and you’re a distasteful little man,” he said.
Rich smiled. “And you can go—”
“Rich!” Djanet finally stepped in, putting her hand around his arm and taking over the responsibility of communicating with the androids. “We want to know why you’re still here. Commander Keats requested that you leave the solar system. Only individuals who plan on making a new life with us here are welcome to stay, and so far, that’s been a precious few. The rest of the android collective isn’t invited to.”
Neirbo’s eyes remained locked on Rich as Djanet spoke, but he finally glanced at Djanet when his lips moved to form his reply. “How do you know we’re not all planning to stay?”
“He’s being evasive,” the A.I. observed. “There’s zero chance they want to make peace. They just tried to destroy the mainframe.”
“Not to mention the Earth,” James added. “But I see no trace of 1’s pattern,” James informed. “This is pure Neirbo. Rich, do me a favor and turn your head. I want to scan all of the androids.”
Rich subtly did as he was asked as Djanet retorted to Neirbo.
“It’s highly unlikely that you’re planning to stay peacefully,” she said. “Why haven’t you left?”
Neirbo’s lips twitched again slightly. “We’ve never been without a leader for the collective before. We’re reevaluating our process for transferring leadership so that it can’t be…corrupted again. The reevaluation takes time. We’ve obeyed the request to move out of the solar system, but we’ll need a leader before the collective decides what to do next.”
“There’s a 99.9 percent chance he’s lying,” the A.I. calculated.
“But 1’s not here,” James said, a slight frustration in his voice. “I’m detecting nothing in their android communication link either. She isn’t even monitoring.”
“Djanet,” the A.I. began, “relay to the androids that they have twenty-four Earth hours, starting now, to begin moving away from our solar system.”
Djanet inhaled deeply before she spoke, cognizant that her next words might be construed as a threat. “I’m authorized to inform you that you have twenty-four hours to begin leaving the solar system.”
“Or else what?” Neirbo replied, disdain dripping from his voice.
“Or else our superman abomination is going to make you leave,” Rich said emphatically.
“A threat?” Neirbo reacted. “You follow your superhuman abomination so blindly. You think he has your best interest at heart, but what are you to him? He’s a god now. You’re a pet to him at most. We, on the other hand, are your true friends.”