Izabel tapped through and the News app opened. Under the story of the newest murder were stories about the school talent show, the newest fruit in the market.

She tapped through on the top story and a video of the police chief came up. “We no longer think these attacks are personal in nature,” he said. “If you have any information on the attacker or the attacks, please get in touch with us immediately.”

She went into Kaito’s office.

“What’s going on?” he said.

“Another family.”

“Jesus.”

“I think they think it’s a serial killer now,” Izabel told him.

“I’m going to apply to move.”

“To where?”

“The capital. You know how they’ve asked me to move there, to their training center, to teach people remote piloting.” He paused. “What do you think?”

“Sure,” she said, but she didn’t know what she thought about any of it yet.

“Did I hear Cami crying before?”

Izabel had almost forgotten. “A bad dream,” she said. “What are you working on?”

“A robot got stuck and I’m cutting him out.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“Out harvesting, yeah. But this was right outside of a town’s perimeter.”

“Which town?”

“One in California.”

“Can I see?” she asked. She didn’t know why she hadn’t ever asked before. She didn’t know why he’d never offered.

“Yeah,” he said.

He got out of the machine and she got in. She thought she’d see the whole picture of it: the massive robot, the horizon, the ocean, a sunset maybe. But instead she saw one part, of only one of the robot’s joints, tangled in a mess of green. The scene of it curved around her eyes until it hit blackness, and the blackness of the machine swallowed her such that she forgot the rest of her body was in her house. She had to focus on the sensation of the chair under her thighs to remember.

“So zoomed in,” she said, sitting up, letting the well-lit office take her body back from the machine in one swift, dizzying pull.

Kaito said, “That’s what it’s always like.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“All this time?”

She nodded and stood up, giving him back his seat. “I’m proud of you,” she said.

“I love you,” he said. “I’m going to go submit an application.”

“Right now?”

“I won’t be able to sleep until I do,” he said.

She nodded. She wanted to think of an action she could take that would make her feel more settled. But when she couldn’t think of one, she crawled into bed with Cami.