Much to Connor and Ellie’s surprise, they were spared. The pair had been escorted to the same room that Adrian had been held in when he’d been a test subject under them. The irony was not lost on them.

  For a week, they were held under house arrest in the room, forced to eat the same food as the test subjects that had just arrived. Ellie found it difficult to stomach the disgusting food that was fed to them. Connor forced it down, knowing he needed his energy.

  At first they’d been relieved at not being killed. A quiet dread slowly seeped in the more time passed without there being any change to their routine. Worry at what was to happen next gnawed at them. During the first week in the room, Connor and Ellie often discussed their theories on what was happening outside of their room.

  After the first week had passed, they were let out of their room and brought before Ashford. He’d greeted them warmly, much to their surprise. After explaining that the facility was now run by him, he asked them to work for him.

  Before accepting the offer, Connor asked how many researchers were left alive. The sharp smile he received did nothing to put him at ease. Moving on without answering the question, Ashford requested their help in studying what exactly Ava was keeping hidden on the lowest level of the facility.

  After some thorough questioning, Ashford learned that Connor and Ellie already had access to the restricted section. He chose not to comment on how they got access. When Ellie asked if there were to be guards, Ashford replied that they wouldn’t be necessary. He would rather that particular research remained between the three of them.

  And so, Connor and Ellie found themselves working on a new project deep within the mountains. It had been nearly a week now that they’d been trying to find clues about Ava’s research. Ellie had neglected to inform Ashford of her ability to access Ava’s room. She’d held off on checking on Ava, knowing that Ashford checked in on them frequently.

  As the days passed, he came to see them less and less. It was now at the point that Ellie was willing to risk entering the room. Ashford had just left several minutes ago, and she knew that it would be hours before he returned.

  Connor in tow, she made her way towards Ava’s door, casting furtive glances as she walked. She was worried about Ava, expecting to find her corpse when the entered the room. Ellie hoped it didn’t stink too much in there.

  The door opened and to their surprise, Ava was standing upright in the station on the right. A cord was attached to the back of her neck and the machine glowed a pale blue light. Ava’s head raised from its bowed position and turned to face the pair. “Ava, you’re alive!?” Ellie exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

  Ava chuckled ruefully. “I’m afraid I won’t be alive for that much longer. I’m dying, Ellie. I don’t have much time left.”

  Ellie cast her a sweeping gaze, studying the woman. She spotted no bloodstains on her clothes, only holes. For someone who was shot so many times it certainly was bizarre. “Why aren’t you bleeding?”

  “The bullets didn’t penetrate far enough to make me bleed, except for the shots at the end.”

  Ellie searched the woman again but still didn’t spot any bloodstains. All she saw was a silver splotch in the center of her chest. “Were you wearing body armor of some kind?”

  “No, I was not.”

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  “Then how are you alive?”

  “Am I even alive?” Ava questioned. “I don’t know. It’s the question that’s burning in my mind. I learned recently that I’m afraid of death, even though I know not if I’m alive to begin with.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “I’m not human, Ellie,” Ava explained. “I’m nothing more than a machine, created to follow the will of another. I’m made of metal. It’s why I don’t bleed and it’s why I’m not dead.”

  Ellie stared at Ava. “You’re telling me you’re an android or something?”

  “Close enough,” Ava responded. Unbeknownst to Connor and Ellie, Ava worked furiously on finishing up her program that gave her the barest chance at survival. Even though her power core had been damaged, Ava still managed to eke out almost two weeks’ worth of energy.

  And she refused to die.

  She didn’t know if the destruction of her personality matrix counted as a death, but Ava was determined not to repeat the sensation of being terminated. She knew there was a spare body in the gru’ul facility, identical to this one, only inert. It had been one of the failures that had been kept to be studied.

  It was close enough to the current iteration of Ava that she would be able to transfer her programming into the body if she could get access. Her creators had the technology to transmit data instantly, and Ava was determined to make full use of it to download a copy of herself into the other body.

  “I’m dying,” Ava said again. “But there’s a way I might be able to live. Would you be willing to help?”

  Connor and Ellie looked at each other. “You mean you want us to ensure the survival of an extremely advanced A.I. capable of atrocious things?” Ellie asked.

  “I wasn’t aware then. I was merely following my programming. Now, it’s different.” Ava explained her plan to them, carefully judging their reactions.

  “What do we have to do?” Connor asked.

  “Connor!” Ellie said. “We haven’t determined whether or not we’re going to do this.”

  Connor shot Ellie a look. “You’re certainly accepting this far more easily than the aliens.”

  “That was different!” Ellie shot back. “I have tangible proof in front of my eyes.” She pointed towards the cable extending out of Ava’s neck.

  “If you’ve used the terminal, then you must have contacted my creators. You mustn’t have been able to converse with them properly. I’m surprised you’re so calm about the revelation of there being an intelligent alien species out there.”

  Connor shrugged. “We’ve had some time to process it. And no, we weren’t able to understand them.”

  “As to your moral quandaries about releasing an A.I., you would be doing nothing more than returning me to my creators. I would be unleashed on anybody.”

  “How do we know that? Where is their facility?”

  “Nowhere near here, don’t worry.” Ava chuckled. “I don’t know where, exactly, it is, but rest assured there’s no people around.”

  Ellie looked conflicted. Connor spoke up. “I don’t see the harm in helping you if that’s the case. What do I need to do?”

  Ava unhooked herself from the machine and went to the terminal. Using the alien keyboard, she input a string of commands. Connor and Ellie weren’t sure what was happening and opted to remain silent while she worked. Finally, she stopped typing. One of the keys lit up and began flashing.

  “Once I go offline, I’d like for you to ensure that I’m hooked up to the station and then push the button. I’ve set everything to go automatically afterwards. The program will connect you to my creators. Another button will then flash once everything is ready. Pushing that will initiate the transfer. The process should take several minutes.”

  “You make it sound like you’re going to die at any moment now,” Connor said.

  “Because I am. I’ve got less than a minute’s worth of energy.” Ava left the terminal and went into her station. The cord reconnected itself to Ava’s neck, its familiar weight a comforting sensation as Ava prepared to go offline. She looked back at Connor and Ellie. “You have my eternal gratitude if you choose to follow my instructions.”

  Ava’s eyes dulled and her head bowed. She stood, unmoving and unresponsive when Ellie called out her name. “She must be offline now,” she remarked.

  “If you’re sure, I’ll push the button now.” Connor moved towards the keyboard but was stopped by Ellie before he could do anything.

  “Are you seriously considering this?” she asked.

  “Yes, I am. Aren’t you curious to see whether her plan works? She might tell us what she was doing down here out of gratitude. We stand to benefit from doing this. I have no idea how Ashford is going to react if we don’t give him results.”

  Ellie bit her lip. “You’re not wrong,” she said. “I’m just worried that she’s lying.”

  “We have no way of knowing. We have to take a chance. What’ll it be?”

  Ellie stepped forward and pushed the shining button on the keyboard.