“That’s called being awestruck,” Rovender said, returning. He slapped Muthr on the back. “Welcome to the real world, Mother Robot, a beautiful and dangerous place. Now you can truly begin to live.”

“What was that?” Muthr asked.

“He said you’re awestruck,” Eva replied. “By the beauty of living in this dangerous place.”

“Awestruck. So it may be,” Muthr said, her voice quiet.

Rovender pulled his large rucksack over his shoulders, causing his numerous items to jangle together. “Okay, Eva, we need to keep moving if we want to make it to Lacus by tomorrow night.” He grabbed his walking stick and set off. “Come, let us continue. And stay alert—like I said, it can get dangerous here.”

“What did he say?” the robot asked Eva.

“Hold on a second, Muthr,” Eva said. “Rovee, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, Eva Nine,” her guide paused, turning to her.

In a hushed voice Eva asked, “If it does get dangerous, shouldn’t we all be able to speak to one another?”

“What? We are—”

“Muthr,” Eva whispered. “She needs to be able to understand you, and I am getting tired of translating. Don’t you have another vocoder thingy?”

Rovender looked over at the robot. Muthr was aiming the Omnipod at the tiny walking leaf, recording it. “I do not have another transcoder,” he said. “I gave you my last one.”

Eva let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay.”

“Wait.” Rovender whispered. “She can also use yours, as long as the device is near you both. So you’ll have to stay close, understand?”

“Really?” Eva smiled. “Thanks!”

“And, Eva,” Rovender added, “she has to ingest the transmitters for it to work. Press the silver button, then have her hold it near her mouth.”

Eva nodded. She remembered how suspicious she had been of the transcoder when she had first been presented with it. She walked up to Muthr’s back as the robot studied the hologram of the walking leaf on the Omnipod. Eva pulled the transcoder out of her pocket. “What did you find?” she asked in an innocent tone.

“I thought it to be a species of insect,” Muthr said, turning to Eva, “perhaps even one of the genus—what are you doing?”

“I need you to let this thing, the transcoder, work on you.”

“Eva, I do not know if I should allow that. It could compromise my programming,” Muthr replied. She glanced over Eva’s shoulder to Rovender.

“Listen,” Eva said, “if we encounter any of the creatures I showed you on the Omnipod, it could get dangerous. You need to be able to understand exactly what Rovender is telling us about this planet.”

Muthr’s eyelids clicked. “You are right, Eva. What do I need to do?”

Eva pressed the button on the bottom of the transcoder. A tiny cloud of transmitters puffed out. “Start speaking,” Eva said with a smile.