But what did that even mean? Evrim had been paraded, prodded, examined, discussed. Were they human, were they not? For a while, it was possibly the most discussed topic in the world. And then Evrim had been rejected. Not for their inferiority, but because they had passed all the tests. Ha could not put her finger on when the turning point had been. But there had been a change of tone in the coverage of the android. In the graphics used on the streams along with the interviews, in the parts of the interviews they chose to accent. A camera lingering on one of Evrim’s expressions that was a bit off. A close-up shot that made Evrim seem menacing. A quote pulled out of context. It was subtle, insinuating.

After an initial round of excitement at the idea that DIANIMA had succeeded, finally, at re-creating the full, emergent complexity of the human mind, the narrative had turned away from Evrim.

Why? Some of the objections were religious. Others ethical. And there was the violence. But the brute fact was the passing of the laws—laws that made Evrim, and any future iterations of their kind, illegal in most of the governing structures of the world, including every country and protectorate under UN Directorate Governance.

And now here Evrim was on this island. Banished. Marooned. Whatever justifications there were for Evrim to be here, to lead this project, that fact loomed in the background: Evrim had nowhere else to go.

In the lobby, Evrim sat alone, face lit by the glow of a terminal, surrounded by all the gear and tech Altantsetseg was constantly tinkering with. And Ha had a clear image of Pinocchio on the shelf, ranged among the inanimate dolls that were its ancestors, suspended between the worlds of the living and the inanimate, subject and object, struggling to become real.

Evrim looked up as Ha entered. “I keep thinking, Ha—about the killing of the ranger. Worrying.”

“About what?” Ha pulled a chair out. She had been overwhelmed, seeing Evrim there, alone, by a feeling of empathy. So alone. Now she found herself moving in close as if to say, I am not afraid of you. Not disgusted. I can be close to you, and not flinch. See? She sat so close that their shoulders touched as she leaned over to see what Evrim was looking at on the terminal.

It was Evrim who flinched. Impossible to tell whether it was from surprise, or disgust, or something else. They moved away, and then seemed to catch themselves, and leaned in to Ha, allowing the closeness.