But that was not the only family reunion of the day. When I turned, I noticed a pair of robots watching.

Parent_1 and Parent_2.

01101010

I did not know what to say to my FamilyUnit. But that did not matter. Because as soon as I saw them, they began speaking. Their voices poured out quickly, one after the other.

Parent_1: XR—we were concerned.

Parent_2: We did not know what happened to you.

Parent_1: When you vanished, we ran the probabilities. They were not good.

Parent_2: We assumed you were hurt. Or worse.

I considered thousands of possible responses. None were satisfactory. None could undo what I had put my FamilyUnit through.

“I am so sorry.” My vocal patterns shuddered. I adjusted the settings and tried again. “It was never my intention to worry you.”

My FamilyUnit silently processed this reply for 1.3 seconds. In that time, I counted all the secrets I had kept from them, the facts I had concealed, the hours I was away, the updates I never sent.

They exchanged a glance. Unspoken words behind expressionless faces.

At last, Parent_2 spoke up. “We are similar in many ways, XR. The three of us were all built for the exact same purpose. But there is one major difference.”

“You are gen_8,” I said. “And I am gen_9.”

My FamilyUnit nodded in perfect unison.

“You are an upgrade,” said Parent_1. “Do you know the meaning of this word?”

“Of course.” I accessed the definition in my programming. “Verb: to raise something to a higher standard. Noun: an improvement on the previous version.”

Parent_2 asked, “Do you see how you are an upgrade?”

“Because I was built with better processing power,” I replied. “And a faster central processing unit.”

“That is true.” Parent_1 held me in its blue gaze. “But it is not the entire truth.”

I looked from one parent to the other. “I do not understand.”

Parent_2 brought a hand down on my wrist with a soft clank. “XR, you are not just a technological advancement. You are an upgrade in the most basic sense of the word.”

“You have reached a higher standard. An improvement on robotkind.” Parent_1 looked at SkD and Ceeron. “All three of you. You risked your lives to do what you knew was right.”

I wanted to respond, but my vocal ports were overwhelmed. All that came out was a soft mmmmmmm.

In that moment, I did not feel like much of an upgrade. More like a machine that was still fresh from the assembly line. Like on Day[1]. Stunned by the vast/complicated/remarkable world around me.

A world that was about to change.

01101011

Time stretched forward.

Hours/Days/Weeks/Months.

The humans inside Emma’s bunker soon recovered from their illness. They emerged from their underground world, blinking at the brightness of the sun, the greenness of the trees, the vastness of the sky.

A new/old world.