And yet, she would miss her mothers, even if they didn’t understand her. Her maternal units would be hurt if she vanished with some mysterious lover. She wasn’t prone to such impulsive behavior, but Helix already mattered so much that she was willing to risk everything to keep him safe.

If I do this, no one will help me.

Still comforting Aevi, she moved to her laboratory, studying the equipment she had spent many cycles requisitioning, carefully rationing her stipends until she had a facility worthy of the name. Outwardly she might appear calm, still able to make rational choices, but there was only tremors and devastation within. In the space of a few moments, the entire foundation of her life had been shaken, forcing her to choose between Helix and her scientific ambitions.

I can’t forsake him. He has nobody else.

But that wasn’t the only reason. In such a short time, she’d become attached and could no longer imagine her life without him. If they took him, it would destroy her, wondering what torments he was suffering alone. Some of the fear receded, leaving only its grim relation, necessity.

I’ll do whatever I must to keep us safe.

She had said it would be suspicious if they left Tiralan right after the ATA visit, but it might be foolhardy to wait for the snare to snap closed. If they waited until the hunt intensified and the bounty hunter drew closer, it might be too late.

Which door to open then? Preemptive action or cautious patience? Thrumming with nervous energy, she found little of the latter to spare. If it was only her safety and professional reputation at stake, she might stay on Tiralan and gamble on the ATA agents deciding that nothing could have survived the detonation. The risk was too high with regard to Helix.

Quickly, she powered up the terminal and keyed the command for encryption, a propriety routine that Qalu had written herself. Such security had been necessary to protect her research, but gratitude filled her, now that she needed it for other reasons. In her field, there were always fringe factions—those who demonstrated against the work and called it unnatural and those who protested against machine intelligence being essentially enslaved by their creators. Qalu carefully followed the hidden keys planted on various nodes until she found the secret, buried communication that gave the cipher necessary to unlock the portal where the Free AI revolution maintained its virtual headquarters.

This wasn’t a true VR experience, more like holo avatars and Qalu designed hers swiftly, hitting the high points, so she could move beyond the foyer. When she tried, the system blazed red.

No clearance. No clearance.

“You need the password.”

When she pivoted, she found a Barathi avatar addressing her. “What is it?”