As the night wore on, Jack got steadily slower. But John Hunt never tired, never lost concentration, never stopped for breath or to go to the bathroom. Soon the Agent had caught up with the determined but flagging major and so he went back and picked up the large pile of bolts Jack had left in the first missile silo, took another of the bolt drivers and started reaffixing the bolts.

By 5am they were nearly done, but Jack was a shell of a man. He could barely lift his right arm anymore, and his body was screaming at him to rest. He went looking for his indomitable colleague with the resignation of the outclassed. He could hear the whine of the bolt driver in the fifth missile silo as he stepped through the bulkhead and into the big room.

“John,” he shouted up into the shaft of the fifth missile chamber, “you got a sec?”

As he shouted, Jack noticed the lift platform still on the floor, but was certain he had heard the sound of the bolt driver coming from the room. Jack heard the whoosh a moment before John landed on the steel floor, his legs flexing abnormally low to take the blow while his face remained passive.

Jack looked at the Agent. The relatively fit and healthy Major Toranssen felt as tired and beaten up as he ever had. He was bruised and battered all over, and he ached from his hair down. His hands were bleeding and sore, blisters rising on the inside of his right hand while welts from the battle-grade steel bolts lined the fingers of his left. But this young-looking man in front of him looked as bright and cheerful as a six-year-old on Christmas morning. Not a drop of sweat, not a single puff of exertion to show how hard he had been working. A slightly hysterical snort escaped Jack’s lips as he stared at John, bewildered.

“Tell me something,” Jack said to the Agent, “I know you are a machine, but you have also said that you have a copy of a person’s, I mean a Mobiliei’s personality in you.” John nodded and Jack went on, “Do you … I mean … is it … well …”

“Strange?” prompted John.

“No, no, not strange. No. I just wondered, well, is it fun? You know, being able to do all the things you can do?”

John looked at the major for a moment, assessing the exhaustion of his human friend. Then, after a moment’s consideration, he answered, “There are times when, yes, it feels good. There are times when being able to run and jump and lift anything I see is … well, it’s enjoyable. We have this kind of technology back home, of course, but it’s illegal to use android bodies in public unless you are a member of the military, and even then usage is extremely restricted, for obvious reasons. The power it gives you is truly awesome.