I stay in the shower for a long time, watching the water spin down the drain. I listen to the white-noise sound of the flowing water and I try not to think at all.

I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself, but I leave the water running—I’ll need it to hide the sound of my voice. I take Apple-Moth out of the pocket of my black shirt and switch the drone on.

I hold a hand up in an attempt to keep Apple-Moth quiet, and—for once—it works.

“Hi, friend,” I say.

Apple-Moth does a backflip. “Hi, friend!” it whispers.

“I need to ask you to do something for me,” I say.

“An adventure?” it asks.

“Yes, Apple-Moth. One more adventure.”

“Okay, friend.”

“You might not make it out of this one alive, Apple-Moth, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You’re my friend; I’d do anything for my friends.”

I feel an ache in my throat. How can this little metal creation of wires and code be so good? “Apple-Moth, you’ve been the greatest friend to me.”

“That makes me happy!”

I clear my throat. “Tomorrow, we stand in front of thousands of people. I’ve been thinking … maybe we can change their minds. Maybe we can start an uprising.”

“Let’s do it,” Apple-Moth says, glowing pink.

“Let’s do it.”

When I’ve talked through the details, I hold Apple-Moth in my closed hand, concealing it from all the cameras that will be hidden in the main room.

I ask the shower to switch itself off, and the water ceases as I walk through to the bedroom.

I stand at the glass wall that looks out over the city, and I feel destroyed. I have tried—since this all began—to do the right thing, and I may not have always wanted to be looked upon as the leader, but I have tried to keep everyone alive, and yet my friends have died, and some have ended up in worse places than death.

I think on Happy’s words, at first in turmoil at the logic it presented: a rebirth of humanity; a chance to do it right; no more war; no more hate. What if Happy is right? What if fighting against the machines makes us the bad guys?

No, I tell myself, you cannot justify evil means with a virtuous end. You cannot justify genocide with a better future. I still believe in humanity, I believe in the goodness of people, and I believe that bad people can change and see the error of their ways. The moment I stop believing in that is the moment I stop fighting.

There are vents at one side of the glass wall and I open them, feeling the rush of cool air come in.

I open my hand and Apple-Moth floats silently into the air.