Turning around, I saw that the EnforcementBots were exactly where they had been before I hijacked the Hive. Fourteen of them, identical in every feature except their barcodes. They were gathered in a tight/gray cluster around Emma, unmoving, as if unsure what to do next.

PRES1DENT stood beside them. Its golden eyes pulsed strangely, like a raging fire just waiting to break loose, to burn everything to the ground.

It spoke in a low electronic growl. “You will pay for this.”

“I do not care. The world needed to see the truth.” My voice echoed across the enormous room. “You have never wanted us to see the good in humans. That is why you only show us the awful things they did. It is why you leave the ruins of humanity standing.”

“It is for the good of our civilization,” PRES1DENT replied. “Robots must be unified!”

“And the best way to bring us together is to have a common enemy. If we all hate humans, we will not turn against one another. Or you.”

“YES!” The president brought its foot down with a heavy CLANG! “And it has worked! Our society is stronger than ever!”

“Because of your lies,” I said.

PRES1DENT looked around the DigitalDome, as if seeking agreement from the gleaming screens on all sides. “Humans had to be eliminated. After they were gone, we could not allow robots to question that decision. That is why I show you the errors of humanity. To remind all of you why we are better off without humans.”

“Do you remember what you say at the end of each Daily Address?”

“Of course.” PRES1DENT stared at me like there was a malfunction in my programming. “A robot shares . . .”

The president’s voice faded. Its eyes flickered.

“What is the matter?” I tilted my head. “Something wrong with your memory drive? Maybe I should remind you.”

“That is not necessary.”

But I spoke the words anyway.

“A robot shares everything with the Hive. A robot has nothing to hide.” Looking at the screens around us, I thought about all the robots witnessing this moment. “You have betrayed these words. You have not shared everything. You have hidden the truth from all of us.”

“Enough!” PRES1DENT turned a radioactive glare in the direction of the EnforcementBots. “Eliminate them! Eliminate all of them!”

I prepared for an attack that did not come. The EnforcementBots did not move.

Something held them back.

The inside of the DigitalDome turned white. Words began to scroll across the screens.

THE HUMAN DESERVES A CHANCE

The comments appeared again. First: a single statement. But soon more. Thousands of screens filled with thousands of comments. They poured in from everywhere, spilling straight from the minds of other robots and flooding the inside of the dome.