“It’s been alleged that a few of them have reacted in ways that indicate learning. I’m unconvinced. I think they are simply automatons. When the island was evacuated, Tibet refused to abandon the temple. So we are stuck with these—and the six automonks who maintain the turtle sanctuary on Hon Bay Canh, which is holy to the Tibetan Buddhist Republic.”

“Shouldn’t the temple and the sanctuary be property of the Hanoi government?”

“No, the government in Hanoi ceded control of all the temples in the Ho Chi Minh Autonomous Trade Zone to that sub-government, and the ATZ, being businesslike as usual, sold the temples off to the Tibetans. To the chagrin of the worshippers, whose Buddhism is, of course, of a different form. And the Vietnamese neo-nationalists were enraged. But the price was right.

“There was a long series of negotiations when we took over: the Tibetan Buddhist Republic does not give in easily. They wanted control of all the temples and shrines on the island. They wanted to build a seaside monastery here, and they wanted other concessions. The Tibetans drive a hard bargain. I remember Dr. Mínervudóttir-Chan saying she couldn’t tell whether they were a nation-state, a religion, or a corporation—but that they certainly know how to operate like all three, using whichever rules and laws are convenient to get their way.

“In the end, it turned out that the archipelago’s temples and the turtle sanctuary had been ceded to them in perpetuity—there was no dislodging them from Con Dao completely. So DIANIMA negotiated a contract with them here on the archipelago which allows them no human monks—only the automonks. We had to make a few other concessions—a drone supply drop, robotic maintenance. Nobody likes it. And Altantsetseg is horrified at the possibilities for security breaches. But at the same time, I don’t suppose the automonks’ chanting, meditating, and collecting turtle eggs for release is doing anyone any harm.”

Most of the monks had retreated into the pagoda, where a gong had sounded. One of them lingered in the courtyard, watering a potted fig. Ha saw Evrim’s grimace of distaste as the Team Lead watched the automonk at its task.

“You don’t like them, do you?” said Ha.

“No. I find them eerie. Repulsive. I suppose it is the same for you when you look at a monkey. Unsettling.”

“I don’t find monkeys unsettling. I don’t think people generally do.”

“No? I would have thought you would find them disturbing. So much like you, but in a degraded state. A failed attempt.”

“I guess we don’t see them that way.”

Evrim shrugged, turned to leave. Ha heard the transport start its engine, sensing their approach.

“I assume you have seen the video?”

“No.”

Evrim paused on the steep stone staircase that led down from the pagoda.

“Did you not meet with Dr. Mínervudóttir-Chan? I thought you were scheduled…”