He was retracing the steps that led to the control center when he reached the junction of corridors and on impulse decided to take the one leading off to the right instead of continuing straight on. In the course of making his way deeper into the vast ship he passed only a pair of A'jeii. The smallest and most numerous of the three sentient species on board exhibited an affinity for traveling in pairs, though whether this was for reasons of security, a reflection of specialized demands, a sexual relationship, or something else, he had no way of knowing. The problem with inquiring about such things was that while he badly wanted answers, he likewise did not want to be insensitive. Or worse, overstep serious boundaries regulating individual propriety. Since he had no notion of where such boundaries might lie or what they might consist of, he deemed it prudent to err on the side of caution.

In the course of his ramble, he encountered neither Olone nor Kaijank. Except for the pair of A'jeii, his only encounters were with a steady two-way flow of automatons. These were as varied in design and construction as they were in shape, color, and presumably function. Irrespective of size, speed, or number of limbs, those coming toward him invariably swerved to avoid the striding biped. All were as eerily silent as if they had been implants in the surrounding walls. In the absence of beeps, hums, whistles, creaks, groans, or any other noise, their vigorous mobility was more than a little unsettling.

Heedless of possible ramifications, he determined to try and stop one just to see if he could do so. The subject he chose for this experiment in human-cybernetic spatial relations was scarcely as tall as Chiasa Katou-Zimmer. Its smooth, cylindrical body came toward him on a wide metallic base that hovered a couple of centimeters above the deck. In keeping with the motive power of its fellow automatons, its propulsion system was dead silent. Facial features consisted solely of a pair of protruding vitreous hemispheres that broke the otherwise smooth uppermost portion of the bronze-hued body. There was no sign of synthetic nose, mouth, or ears.

As it approached, the automaton veered left to go around Dev. He quickly shifted his own stance so as to get in front of it. Sidling sideways, it attempted to avoid him by going in the other direction. Once again, he hurried to block its path. This noiseless dance continued for another several minutes, in the course of which the other automatons utilizing the corridor wholly ignored the mismatched couple.