And there were changes to the ruins of humanity, too. The abandoned grocery stores/shopping centers/banks/gas stations. They had been left standing all these years as a reminder of humanity’s flaws. But the time had come for a new reminder. Not of humans’ mistakes, but of their potential.

And so the ruins of humanity were bulldozed.

In their place, new structures were built. Designed by humans, constructed by robots.

And another change: I had a new pair of legs.

Soon after returning from my journey with Emma, I made a trip to a factory where my water-damaged legs were replaced. Once I could move at full capacity again, I returned to work. To the glistening field of solar panels.

It was good to be back. Just SkD/Ceeron/me. My coworkers. My friends. After so much disruption in my life, our job provided comfort. The steady/predictable rhythms of our tasks.

Bolt/Connect/Attach/Repeat.

We flowed around one another with perfect precision. Three robots working as one.

That was one thing that did not change.

On my way home from work one day, a familiar voice called out.

“Hey, XR!”

Emma jogged in my direction.

She had changed, too. Emma had once been so pale, so sensitive to sunlight. But after a few months of living aboveground, her skin had a healthy glow.

Her hair was glossier. Her cheeks had filled out. She was eating a wider variety of better foods. Wild-caught fish, local vegetables, and apples. Lots/Lots/Lots of apples.

And not a single synthetic compressed protein block.

She was also taller. Since our first meeting, her height had increased by three centimeters.

She would continue to get bigger.

But I would stay the same size.

Maybe someday we would be able to see eye to eye.

Emma looked up at me (but not as far up as before). “How’s it going?”

“I have no reason to complain,” I replied. “Just headed home to recharge. You?”

“We discovered another bunker in Old Nevada. Me and my parents are heading there next week.”

As the first human to leave her bunker, Emma had become an important figure in our new civilization. She was often the first to make contact with underground humans. To convince them they were no longer in danger. To tell them our story.

It was a story with a beginning and a middle.

But as for the end . . .

We were still writing that part.

Emma was an ambassador. An intermediary. A link in a chain that connected humans to robots.

Of course, this meant a lot of time away from school. Which was why Emma always traveled with two teachers. One was a human. The other was a machine.

Emma looked curiously at me. “Tomorrow’s your day off, right?”