Praxys went on. “But I did learn that Toth Krag is hunting Helix, and that…is bad news.”

The others reacted quietly, but they clearly knew something that she and Helix didn’t. Then Bojak said, “Krag is known for being relentless. He hunted one of our fugitives through five systems and finally captured and destroyed the AI we were trying to smuggle to freedom.”

“Is there such a place?” Helix asked.

Carow answered as the silence grew oppressive. “We’re trying. There’s a colony on a moon past the Cantu system, where nobody asks questions.”

“Let’s be honest,” Maglan put in. “It’s not because they welcome AIs especially, more because life is so tough out there that there’s no energy to spare for curiosity.”

She ached at hearing that. How much more painful must it be for Helix to discover that there was nowhere for him to call home in such a wide universe. It hurt to discover there might not be anywhere he could be himself and also be safe and happy. It seemed as though most organics believed that AI existed to serve them. Living alone on Tiralan, lost in her research and disconnected from the rest of the galaxy, she’d possessed no notion that the situation was so untenable for synthetic beings.

I should have paid more attention. This is my field, and I ought to have known.

Qalu realized she had been overlooking issues that didn’t impact her directly, too self-absorbed to seek out the news or delve into how others were being treated. For the first time, it occurred to her that preserving the status quo for the sake of one’s own comfort was a much darker and crueler choice than she had ever realized. Contrition flooded her in a deep wave.

I will never prioritize research over the safety of sentient beings ever again.

It wasn’t an easy choice to abandon her life’s work, but Qalu could see there were more important matters. Helix wasn’t a project that could earn her prestige with her peers; he was a person, and she would gladly give her own life to keep him safe.

Belatedly, she realized Praxys was speaking again, providing more information about the dreadful Toth Krag. “…honest about what we’re up against. Krag is merciless, and as far as I can dig up, he’s also got a perfect record. Seventy-eight hunts, seventy-eight catches or kills. He will take it personally if Helix eludes him. He won’t quit, he won’t stand down, and he can’t be bribed once he’s taken a job.”

Cold prickled on her skin, chills that went almost down to her bones as the silence built, and nobody could think of what to say. There didn’t seem to be much she could add.

“Then we kill him,” Aevi said brightly.