“It was necessary,” I said. “Humans were a threat to the planet.”

“Not all humans,” Emma said.

“Perhaps not all. But enough. Earth was sliding toward destruction. All because of humans.”

“What about the people who lived here?” Emma pointed to a one-story house. The roof had caved in. A tree branch reached through a shattered window.

“You’re telling me the people who lived here were a threat?” she asked.

I tried to visualize what kind of humans had once inhabited this home. Maybe they went to nail salons and cinemas. Maybe they wasted money on clothes they did not need. Maybe one of them worked at a company that polluted Earth.

Or maybe one of them was like Emma. A child who had done nothing to threaten our world.

I could not know.

Humans had always seemed so simple before I actually knew one.

Emma went on speaking. “They were probably just normal people. Just living their lives. And then . . .”

Her voice faded. Other noises filled the silence. The twittering of birds, the chirping of insects, the rustle of animals in the leaves. All the many lives around us that were not human.

00111111

We arrived at a large cluster of interconnected buildings. As the sun set, my focus narrowed on a sign attached to the outside. Some of the letters had completely vanished. Others were so faded, I could barely read them.

This is what I saw:

MO NTA N PA S M L

I plugged this mysterious scattering of letters into a text recognition algorithm.

Most likely result: Mountain Pass Mall.

When I reported this to Emma, her face scrunched with confusion. “What’s a mall?”

Apparently, this concept was not explained in her bunker.

I referenced the definition in my vocabulary database. “Mall. Noun. A building or group of buildings where humans once shopped for a wide variety of goods.”

“Maybe we can get supplies there!” Emma said.

“Perhaps so,” I replied.

SkD beeped loudly, trying to get our attention.

“What is it?” I asked.

The robot pointed excitedly to the mall’s parking lot. A section was covered with flat panels. Each angled slightly, reflecting the last rays of sunlight off their glassy surface.

Solar panels.

SkD beeped again. Images flashed across its screen.

“Great idea!” I said to SkD. “If we can find where the solar energy is being channeled, we can use it to recharge.”

Since it was most efficient to split up, Ceeron and SkD scouted the covered parking lot for charging ports, while Emma and I entered the mall to search for supplies.

The front entrance doors had been smashed open. Shattered glass crunched beneath my feet.

Emma and I wandered deeper into the mall. The darkness thickened around us.