“I always wanted to get a look at one of those robots, see how they ticked,” Kenzie said.

“It means going to Boston, being hours away from everything else,” Tristan said. “I hear it’s intense, relentless.”

“Kind of,” I said. “Less about constant fighting unless someone really slacked off, more about worrying there could be an IED rigged to anything you touch, or a beartrap under any patch of dirt… except it’s not an IED, it’s a giant robot that tears you apart.”

“I could help, scan with my cameras,” Kenzie said. “You could help… kind of?”

“They want unconditional firepower, Rain’s firepower comes with conditions,” I said.

“Tristan… no. You could, Victoria. Kind of?” Kenzie mused. “I want to go, though!”

“I have to stay close to the hospital, so you’d be going without me,” Tristan said.

Kenzie slumped in her seat.

Naphtha was talking to someone, “—situations where we can’t let people use powers at their full strength. If you want to help but your power is big, constantly on, or inherently reality-distorting, this is a big way to help. If you’re anti-violence or you don’t want to be in a situation like we had when we fought Teacher where we had to take lives, dealing with the Machine Army is one way to contribute. Nobody’s going to fault you if you’d rather contribute that way.”

No takers.

“That’s all,” Naphtha said. “Thank you for your time. Reach out to any Warden if you change your minds.”

He stepped down from the table. The circular pool of oil moved with him, leaving things untouched. He joined the conversation between Rain and the other Warden.

We finished off the plate of deep fried chicken and zucchini. More of a brunch than a lunch, but I had the generally ravenous feeling that came with the decline of a spot of illness, and I didn’t mind the chance to fill up.

“Tristan,” I said, as I wiped my mouth and discreetly wiped my nose, before pulling the medical mask back on, “What’s the status with Barcode?”

“We’re fine. They’re appraised, they believe it wasn’t intentional, their thinker vetted me. I put them on some other stuff, a few weeks back. Finding some people. Paris was one, but then we ran into him before Barcode did.”

I looked across the table at him. “What were they supposed to do with Paris when they found him?”

“Tell me,” he said.

“Then?”

“Then we’d see,” he said. His expression was flat, betraying nothing. He looked back in Rain’s direction. “Moot point.”

“That’s not what moot point means.”

“What does it mean?” Kenzie asked.

“Up for debate.”