“Eva, may I see the hydration infuser?” Muthr asked. “I will go ahead and collect more water for you while we rest here.”

“Sure.” Eva pulled the empty infuser from her container and handed it, along with her hydration kit, to Muthr. The robot rolled out into the open plain and began filling bottles. Otto followed her, seemingly curious about Eva’s robot caretaker.

Rovender pulled out some voxfruit from his pack and began peeling it. He eased down next to Eva, offering a piece to her. “Try it,” he said, “you might like it.”

Eva took the fruit and sniffed. It had a citrusy scent. She aimed her Omnipod at it. “Initiate Identicapture, please,” she said.

Eva watched Rovender eat as he glanced at the hologram of the voxfruit rotating over the device.

The Omnipod chirped, “This could be a species of chlorophyte plant known commonly as a Volvox. If so, it comprises a community of micro-organisms. There is more information, including life cycle, ecology, and human importance. Shall I continue?”

“Wow. For once you sort of knew what this was,” Eva said. “Is it poisonous?”

“Negative,” the Omnipod replied.

“Will it walk away?” she asked.

“Whether the plant that produced this fruit is sentient enough for voluntary locomotion is undetermined at this time. More data is required.”

Eva looked over at Rovender.

“It isn’t going anywhere,” he said.

“Hey, I don’t know,” she replied. “The spinach on my planet doesn’t walk around and eat birds.” Eva peeled back the translucent rind and plucked out one of the berries within. She sniffed it, licked it, and finally nibbled off a piece. The voxfruit was tangy yet sweet, reminding Eva of the taste of gooseberries. She popped the whole berry into her mouth, savoring it.

Rovender smiled as green fruit juice ran down his whiskered neck. He wiped his whiskered face with the back of his large hand. “Well, Eva Nine? Are you dying yet?”

Eva giggled and ate her entire voxfruit. “It’s different from the fruit we grew in our greenhouse,” she said, “but I do like it more than nutriment tablets.”

“How do those taste?” Rovender took a drink from the water he had collected at the Sanctuary pool.

“Like . . . like nothing,” Eva said. “I think they’re just starch.”

“Why eat them, then? Where is the pleasure?”

“Because I have to,” Eva replied. “Just like you.”

“Bluh.” Rovender popped another berry into his mouth. “Sure, I eat because I have to. But I also eat because I want to. It is one of life’s few pleasures.”