The situation was no longer under control. Paranormal occurrences kept popping up like in a crazy horror house, never letting spectators, belted on their seats, breathe out in relief.

But the safety belt seemed to crack, threatening Gromov to become one of the monsters in a panopticon.

Not only had Doll's transformation surprised him, but her acknowledgment of Samara's existence counted like confirmation by an independent observer.

Since never before was the Plantarian virus reported to infect or affect artificial beings, Gromov concluded that the power raiding his ship was something else.

Just thinking of it gave him a headache. Had he accepted the existence of The Emperor In The Mask, an unrivaled genius, who had allegedly prepared a background for steering the future of humankind, then he could explain everything in a simplistic fashion. The evil guy did it!

On the other hand, Gromov was not aware of any organization or individual in the Solar System that could grant a sex android self-awareness or enable a mortal man to see through solid objects without a specialized gadget, not to speak of transcendent being appearing and reappearing like a ghost.

With reluctance, he had to admit that the power surpassed him, so trying to go against it was as meaningful as fighting with a knife against a tank.

With no other choice than to wait until the mysterious synthesis was finished, he chose to take a nap.

Meanwhile, Doll put on a surprisingly decent Victorian garment, sat down into a Gromov's armchair, and read Jane Austen's book from Luciano's collection, the charging pad situated comfortably under her feet.

The picture exuded a serene atmosphere of long-lost times and was a complete fake. To Gromov's knowledge, Doll could absorb electronic books at an astonishing speed, so the archaic paper book was there only for show.

Doll's new personality developed in accordance with the information imposed so far on her. The initial AI merged with Gromov's and Luciano's books and the interactions with the surrounding world.

In a few hours, Luciano's classics had prevailed, and Doll adopted an identity of a "corporate runaway" born into a noble family. She gradually insisted on calling Gromov "My dearest father" and treated him as such.

Unfortunately, the original programming lingered underneath, so her daughter-like affection bore traits of palpable sluttiness. Her words simply did not correspond with her body language, which felt inappropriate, mindboggling, and, what was worse, mildly tempting.

While Doll's previous behavior was too straightforward, aiming at unsophisticated porn addicts that had no style, now she possessed the appeal and culture of a noble lady sold to a brothel.

But what puzzled Gromov the most was the shift in Doll's underlying personality. Since he had grown up on stories about robots gaining self-awareness, he had no trouble accepting this as a fact. But even so, Gromov would expect Doll's consciousness to develop in little steps, not in the magnitude of minutes.

Doll herself did not distinguish between before and after the update. According to her, SEXYSEXYLADIES did not create but rather enslaved her, having chained her soul with imperatives of controlling program - "the stupidifier," as she called it.

Doll claimed that her true self had been presented until the update, only restrained and half-awaken, never allowed to leave programmed boundaries.

As if in accordance with Khamal and Simone's theory, Doll spoke rather dismissively about SEXYSEXYLADIES. Allegedly, her core or soul had never been developed in their laboratories, not in any other present research institute.

She had a fragmented recollection of some "wonderful world" in which she had come to age.

But the most disturbing part came with Doll's craving for revenge. No more she cared about the consent of the other parties or interpretation of laws. On the contrary, she did not hide her almost pathological hatred for SEXYSEXYLADIES and human society in general.

After a careful inquiry, Gromov realized Doll had transformed into a being with an apparent superiority complex that deemed humans unworthy of existence.

"Speaking of which," Doll added. "My dearest father, you don't seem to enjoy our two new passengers. Should I extinguish them?"

'Extinguish? What a strange word to use when talking about Khamal's and Simone's deaths', Gromov pondered. 'Taking into consideration I've pledged myself to antagonize the whole human race, those two lives may be a good start.'

Of course, he had no intention to test Doll's loyalty this way. The question was if she felt any loyalty at all. Luscious as she might appear, Doll was designed to maintain heavy machinery, so her strength surpassed his by a wide margin. If she disobeyed and rebelled, he could be her next victim.

"Say, Doll," he asked, eyeing her curiously. "When we speak about extinguishing inferior lifeforms, should not you start with me?"

"With you? What do you mean, my dearest father?"

"How many people do we have on this ship?"

"Three."

"Three, is it? Can you name them?"

"Sure. Mr. Uriah Uriah, Miss Simone Yeuxbleu, and Professor Khamal Zhutra."

"I see. So you don't think I am a human?"

"Of course, you are not! What a ridiculous idea!"

"I have to admit this is the first time someone said this to my face. I knew my subordinates loved to call me the old bloodsucker, but they preferred to call me so behind my back. So what am I if not a human?"

Doll hesitated as if not sure herself. "I don't know, my dearest father. In no dictionary, one can find a definition of what we are."

"So, in your opinion, we are of the same species? You, me, and my, ehm, wife?"

"Naturally."

"Don't you find it counterintuitive that you're a sex android, I'm born human, and my elusive wife seems to be a ghost?"

To Gromov's astonishment, Doll chuckled: "What a nonsensical notion! If people wear different clothes, does it mean they are not of the same species?"

"Is it so?"

To Gromov's taste, the debate turned extremely metaphysical. If he understood what Doll implied, he had become an transcendental entity, comfortably wrapped into human flesh, whereas Doll had dwelled in the artificial body. The only logical conclusion was that Samara the Demoness remained in her ghostly form because she had not possessed a materialized vessel yet.

"Whatever," he said. "The puny humans are not allowed to know our secret. So I forbid you to call me your dearest father in public - unless you want me to die of shame - and if possible, be sure to act as an obedient android."

"Of course," Doll nodded graciously. "I would never allow my carelessness to harm our cause. Use me at your consideration, my dearest father."

Since she accompanied her last sentence with a very ambiguous gesture, any random passerby would think she was giving in to her sugar daddy.

At the moment when Gromov wanted to remind Doll to avoid such a misleading remark, she raised her head and watched the door attentively, similar to a cat spotting a mouse.

"What is it?"

Someone knocked. Subconsciously, Gromov inspected the closed door. Once he focused, the solid material became transparent and revealed Simone Yeuxbleu, standing behind it with a tablet in her hands.

"Come in!"

"Here you are."

The woman entered and put the tablet on the table in front of Gromov.

"Is it a gift, Simone?"

Without any traits of irritation, Simone smiled. "Don't be silly! We had a discussion with Khamal about the pictograms. To prevent any misunderstanding, we went through our foto documentation. And I have splendid news, Sava. It appears I was wrong about their meanings. Check them by yourself."

The embodiment of honesty, Simone stared directly into Gromov's eyes when she continued: "For your convenience, we added translation between historical and current pictograms. Please, take your time to compare them. You see, there is no need to worry about microbiological contamination of any kind."

After that, Simone quickly left the cabin.

"I am afraid she was not telling the truth," commented Doll. "She deserves a harsh punishment."

"They're trying to protect themselves. I bet they've been busy deleting all evidence to sweep the matter under the rug. They still underestimate the severity of our situation."

With no greater interest, Gromov perused the pictures. If anything, the whole exploration of the unknown space station evoked a school trip. Zhutra and his assistants took every opportunity to snap a photo of themselves as if they were sightseeing.

It was rather disturbing watching a merry bunch of students showing V-signs on camera when most of them had died a few days later.

"Hm, let's look at this. Simone writes a personal diary. She has an app for it with the latest record added today. A pity the journal is password protected."

"May I?" Doll asked. "Shall I unlock it for you, my dearest father?"

Gromov nodded.

"Why not jeopardize her privacy once again," he sighed. "But I doubt you can do it, Doll."

Without standing up from the armchair, the android pointed her finger at the tablet and connected to the tablet. The screen blackened, switched to the command line, and the device heated up.

"Primitive security," she said after a few seconds. "The password is 'My favorite color is turquoise!' Nonetheless, I must warn you of that woman."

"Why is so?"

"I've inspected the log of her activities, including her diary. After the discovery of the space station, she sent an encrypted report to an unknown location."

"Really?"

"Without a doubt. In fact, her diary indicates it was her who destroyed Professor Zhutra's ship. She was disappointed when you let him go. Furthermore, she planned to seduce you to get access to your ship. Then, she would destroy the remaining artifact and kill all witnesses."

"Eh?"

"Funny, isn't it?" Doll smiled gently. "Humans are delusional. How could she ever think that her lacking, stinking and disease-ridden body may seduce my dearest father? She should be honored if you let her stand in your proximity, that repulsive, malformed scoundrel!"

Finally, Gromov came to his senses: "Wait for a second, my precious daughter! What have you just said? I mean the part about the killing, not your assessment of poor and so unattractive Simone. Why would she have done something so outrageous? For what reason?"

"Since she loves to use indirect and obfuscated wording when she describes her unlawful goals, I am not clear on that. Perhaps she is mentally handicapped. Or perhaps because she is an undercover agent of the organization that called itself DOZOR? It seems to be the case. Can it be a sufficient reason, my dearest father?"