A week later, Ethan Stipe arrived at the office just after sunrise. Officially, he was there to invest in the hybrid android program. Unofficially, everyone knew something didn’t add up.

  Sophia was down in the junkyard lab with Stevie Chan, making final tweaks to the prototype.

  Adam hadn’t yet seen the finished bot. He got the impression she didn’t want him to—not until it was complete. There was a nagging doubt in his mind: she might have made choices he wouldn’t agree with.

  He waited in the glass-walled boardroom, watching the staff outside glance up from their screens, faces painted with awe and disbelief. Whispers buzzed like static.

  Was it really him? Ethan Stipe?

  Billionaire. Martian colonist. Tech messiah. And now, heading for their boardroom. To invest?

  Ethan’s robot, Rab, followed him to the door and stopped. Clad in a tailored suit and tie, he looked human—at a distance. Up close, the illusion broke. Rab stood guard, scanning for threats with his military-grade vision and hearing that could catch the fall of a pin.

  “I’ve transferred the bug bounty to your company’s account,” Ethan said, breezing in with a smile that was both warm and enigmatic. “Also... I’d like to offer you a job. On Mars. Looking after the AI.”

  Adam blinked. “Wow. That was fast but not totally unexpected, but... I can’t.”

  Ethan tilted his head. “If Sophia’s the deal-breaker, she comes too. We’ll find her a position. But it’s you I want.”

  “It’s not her. It’s my family,” Adam said, furrowing his brow. “You’ve seen what it’s like down here—the weather’s getting worse. Some say it’s apocalyptic. I need to take care of them. Do you think... it’ll really get that bad?”

  Ethan’s smile faded. A shadow crossed his eyes.

  “No one knows for sure... but yes. I think it will.”

  Adam lowered his gaze.

  “You can bring them,” Ethan said more gently. “Parents, siblings. Do you have... kids? A partner?”

  A pause.

  “Yes,” Adam said. Then, too quickly: “No.”

  Ethan raised an eyebrow. “You either do, or you don’t.”

  “It’s complicated. I don’t want my family to know. Sorry—can we just forget that answer? That question?”

  Ethan gave a slow nod. “Yeah. Sure.”

  Adam stood. “Come on. I want to show you the bot Sophia’s been working on. I haven’t seen the final prototype either. Just... if it’s not impressive, go easy on her.”

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  Ethan smirked. “Honestly, I’m not expecting much, given the size of your operation. Clever as you all are. And judging from your tone, sounds like you aren’t either.”

  “Sophia’s smart. Brilliant, really. But we may have rushed it. I’ve been buried testing your software for vulnerabilities—haven’t been involved as much as I wanted.”

  They took the lift down to the junkyard lab.

  Sophia and Stevie Chan were perched on a worktop, finishing off greasy takeaway breakfasts. Adam could tell they’d been working all night. Sophia looked startled—she clearly wasn’t expecting them this early. She crammed the last bite of her burger, washing it down with a loud slurp from a sugar-laden milkshake.

  Adam watched her. She used to be so careful with her diet, obsessively healthy. But now... what was the point? She looked fine—surprisingly well, given her diagnosis. You wouldn’t guess she was terminal.

  She wiped her mouth and hopped down to greet them, milkshake still in hand. Stevie Chan stood beside her, grinning like a fanatic, barely containing himself in the presence of his idol.

  “Mr. Stipe!” Stevie said breathlessly, shaking Ethan’s hand. “Big fan. I was watching Dale ‘Two Barrels’ Harlan last night—what’s really going on in those Martian caves?”

  “Stevie, shut up,” Sophia said, forcing a smile. “Sorry, Mr. Stipe. He’s brilliant, but... well, he’s on the spectrum.”

  “Not uncommon,” Ethan replied, amused.

  “Well, here it is,” Sophia said, gesturing theatrically.

  She led them to a tarp draped over a humanoid figure.

  “Activate.”

  The cloth slid to the floor with a whisper. Beneath it stood a hyper-realistic android—too realistic. It resembled Sophia, but something was off. Not quite human. Its eyes, though perfectly Sophia's shade, seemed to lack a spark,"

  “Say hello to Mr. Stipe,” Sophia said.

  The android stepped forward, jerking violently as it moved.

  “Hello, Mr. Stipe. Pleased to meet you,” it said in a modulated echo of Sophia’s voice.

  Adam winced.

  Stevie beamed, utterly oblivious. Adam clenched his jaw. Why hadn’t Stevie said something? Told Sophia the truth? The prototype wasn’t ready. It wouldn’t pass. And now, in front of Ethan Stipe, it was just... embarrassing.

  Ethan folded his arms, eyes flicking between Adam and Sophia.

  “This is it?” he said flatly.

  Sophia’s smile flickered. “You don’t think it could pass? Watch this. It can power itself with organic matter when the batteries run low. Drink this,” she said, holding out the milkshake to the bot.

  The android grasped it, lifted it to its mouth—and missed, sloshing the shake all over its face.

  Sophia flushed. “It just needs tweaking,” she muttered apologetically.

  “Mmm,” Ethan said, disappointment rising in his voice. “Sorry—I don’t mean to offend. But... well, I’m not impressed. I wasn’t expecting much, honestly. But I thought, Sophia, with your expertise... it would be better than this.”

  “Power down,” Sophia said quietly, defeated.

  Adam caught Stevie smiling. Was he taking pleasure in Sophia’s failure? He had always considered Stevie odd, but never cruel.

  The android’s head slumped. Its lights dimmed. Lifeless.

  “Stevie, now,” Sophia snapped.

  “Power down... Medusa,” Stevie said.

  Nothing happened.

  But Sophia moved.

  Her posture shifted. Her expression went blank. The real android prototype hadn’t been the demonstration hybrid behind the tarpaulin.

  She had.

  Ethan staggered back, nearly bumping into Rab, who sidestepped in perfect silence.

  “Can the real Sophia come in?” Stevie bellowed.

  From outside, the actual Sophia—flesh and blood—entered the room, smiling. Adam noted the exhaustion in her eyes. The faint pallor. The signs of early-stage Pandorion illness.

  “Pretty amazing, huh?” Stevie grinned, glowing with pride