And to make sure this information did not get out, I went into my settings and marked my interaction with Emma as Private. I moved all related data into a protected folder. None of this would be shared with the Hive.

My operating system shivered with an unfamiliar buzz. I had never kept a secret before. This was my first.

It would not be my last.

00011000

I was not good at goodbyes.

I understood the definition of the word goodbye, of course. I had said it to my FamilyUnit and my coworkers thousands of times before. But those were different. Those were temporary. There was always a hello waiting on the other side of each goodbye.

Not this time.

Not with Emma.

But I had to say something. So I formulated a goodbye. It went like this:

“Emma. The time has come to bid you farewell. I hope you do not die on your journey.”

Like I said: I am bad at goodbyes.

Emma nodded once. Kicked the dirt. “Thanks.”

She carefully returned the map to her backpack and zipped it closed.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “I should probably get going.”

SkD rolled forward, coming to a stop in front of Emma. On its screen was the waving hand it had flashed me earlier.

A symbol with multiple meanings.

It was goodbye.

And it was also a warning.

Ceeron spoke. “Perhaps I will see you again later, alligator.”

I gave Ceeron an uncertain look. “Emma is not an alligator.”

But Emma did not seem offended by the comparison. Instead, she peered up at the large robot. “After a while, crocodile.”

Now I was very confused.

Now that we had all said our goodbyes, Emma turned and walked away.

I watched as she disappeared into a sea of glimmering solar panels.

00011001

We returned to our work. Bolt/Connect/Attach/Repeat. Hours passed. The only sounds were the clank of our tools and the whir of our movements.

As I completed my tasks, I calculated probabilities.

Probability that Emma meets at least one other robot during her journey: 98.3 percent

Probability that another robot allows her to continue on her way, as we did: 9.7 percent

Probability that Emma suffers other setbacks (injury/starvation/illness/severe weather): 61.9 percent

Probability that Emma reaches her destination: 1.6 percent

Her chances were not good. But that was not our concern. “XR?”

A voice rattled my thoughts. I glanced upward.

Ceeron was staring at me. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am okay,” I replied. “Why?”

Ceeron’s focus shifted to the underside of the solar panel I had been working on.

“The converter box,” it said.

“What about it?”

I followed Ceeron’s gaze. I immediately saw what had snagged its attention.

The converter box was upside down.

Strange. Over the past twelve years, I had connected over 1.3 million converter boxes. In that time, I had never installed one incorrectly.

Until now.

“I will correct the error,” I said quickly. “I will not repeat it.”