Wave remained alone in the office with Aki and the robot, trying to make some sense of what all of this meant. "If you’re still alive, Aki, why did CCR declare you dead?"

"If I knew that," Aki growled, and the vibration of the speaker tickled in Wave’s ear. "I don’t know what to say. I loved my work, loved my colleagues, actually, everything was fine. At least as I remember."

"If I may say something," the robot politely volunteered. "I don’t think it was CCR. The channel didn’t just treat the employees well, it treated everyone well, even us robots. That’s why I don’t stand by my striking brethren."

What was it then? Was CCR as much a victim as Aki? How did the threads connect? Hell, even Lambert couldn’t tie them all together. She couldn’t figure it out and looked at the robot. "Why do robots really go on strike?" she wondered. "Do they do it of their own free will, or is someone controlling them? Do you really have a soul or feelings like the protesters claim?" She raised her hands apologetically. "I’m sorry if that comes off too straightforward. I’m just curious."

"Oh yes, I do have feelings," the robot replied. "When they came to abduct Master Aki, I was scared. I was afraid for him, and later, when they cleaned out the offices, I was afraid for myself."

"How did you know what fear feels like?"

"I observed it with you humans. I understood how it worked, simply because it is logical that every being wants to maintain its own functionality. Fear is a protective mechanism like they are everywhere in our programming. Then suddenly it became more than just logical understanding." The robot completed a circle through the air with its finger. Then he faltered before finishing it completely. "It was like a glitch that knocked out all my regular processes. There was nothing in my programming that would have prevented me from just remaining in Aki’s office and let them collect me. But fear took control and I hid in a place I didn’t think they would find me." He pointed his finger at the opening in the wall.

Wave followed the robot’s movements, then looked back at him and frowned. "Are your brothers driven by a similar feeling that overrides their logical processes?" That did sound like a virus, but then wouldn’t all humans be contaminated with it, as well? Who allowed them to have feelings? And why shouldn’t robots be able to be the same? Yes, some might argue that it was alright the way it was before. Robots were machines, and machines didn’t have feelings. But for Wave, it didn’t feel right to forbid them just because they never had them before. That would be like accepting that the city would always continue to do what it was doing. That Wave had to give up because the city would never change.

The robot tapped his forehead with his long index finger. "I know my brothers thought long and hard about this. It didn’t just happen. The humans just ignored our individual, softer voices. Now they’re hearing them scream all at once."

That felt familiar to Wave. Lambert had said something like this about the settlers. They were ignored, too, and then suddenly her parents appeared and fought back. Wave gritted her teeth and took a breath, but the uneasiness that this thought had caused did not disappear. Would the robots and their feelings also just disappear again, as had happened with her parents?

Lambert returned. "Not only did we locate Aki’s bio-chip, but it’s even still emitting faint life signals." He tapped his ear. "We know his position, but there’s another problem."

Wave’s heart leapt. Aki was still alive? "Where did you find him? In the Hypothermia Department? They arrived while I was leaving the crash site, after all."

That would mean they had put him into cryogenic sleep, because they couldn’t cure him, at least not now. But hoping that eventually, they could, even if that might take decades.

"That would be minor." Lambert took off his hat and turned it in his hands, then paused and looked directly at Wave. "This case is probably bigger than we thought. Too big for you to pursue further."

What was that supposed to mean? "Where," Wave asked in a firm voice, "did you find Aki? Spill it!"

Now that she knew he was alive, there was no need to grieve or be sentimental, anymore. Now there was hope again and a path she could follow. And she was determined. She certainly wouldn’t let Lambert stop her from saving Aki.

Lamberts put his hat back on and his eyebrows furrowed. Wave could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t plan to let her go. "I think it’s time to take you down to the department now. After all, I did arrest you. Our little trip is over now." He took a step toward her and was about to grab her by the arm. Was he going to handcuff her again?

"Sorry, Sergeant Lambert." Wave evaded his grasp. In terms of agility, she was superior to him, but once he grabbed her, she would have been done for. "I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let you arrest me again. Now that I know he’s alive, I have to help him. You must understand this, right?"

"Trying to help him and losing your life in the process? I’m sorry, I can’t let that happen." He raised his gun and pointed it at Wave.

"You’re going to save my life by shooting me? You’re a hell of a lawman." She raised her hands and sighed, "All right, I surrender."

Wave walked up to Lambert, lowered her hands, and held them out to him. The gun disappeared, vanishing into thin air with a clicking sound. Instead, he fetched a pair of handcuffs from his pocket.

"And I was already starting to like you, Lambert," Wave said.

The Sergeant quirked one corner of his mouth. "Sorry, Wave, but I’m still a Sec. There are rules that even I won’t ignore. One of them tells me that I can’t let you throw away your life."

Wave snorted. "Now that you’re arresting me, at least tell me where Aki is. It must be a really bad place if you’re acting like this."

Lambert grabbed her arm. "He’s in a Kanter Corporation site."

Thanks, Wave thought, and ordered, "Steel caps!" While her synth suit was still adjusting to the command, Wave was already kicking. As hard as she could, she kicked Lambert’s shin. He grunted and let go of her arm. She felt sorry for him, yes she did, but he was going to arrest her again, and then it would be over. Then she would sit in a cell and could do nothing more to help Aki.

"Come on, robot!" she shouted, turning past Lambert.

"Oh, no, I’d rather not," he replied, "I’m really not up for any fast escapes."

Without the robot, then. There was no time to convince it. Wave ran back to the elevator and hit the button. Agonizingly slow, the doors opened but frantically fast, Lambert’s footsteps approached her. Had he already recovered from the kick?

Before Wave could react, he slammed her through the opening doors and into the wall of the elevator. She crashed with face and torso against the cold metal, and the impact forced the air out of her lungs. Instead, she felt his breath on the back of her neck. His pained gasps rushed tinglingly across her skin.

Lambert’s shoulder pierced into her back, causing her sore spots to flare again. Then the pressure eased and Wave could breathe again. She gasped for air and it was that moment, as her body helplessly tried to resume full functionality, that Lambert used to grab her wrists and tie them up. Then it clicked again and Wave felt the barrel of his gun in her neck.

That had been one hell of a short escape.

"I really don’t want to shoot you," he croaked. His leg must have been really hurting. "Please don’t do anything stupid. Again."

"What could I even do?!" Wave really wanted to shout that, but it was hard to breathe, so it came out more like a growl. "I’m just a regular woman, stop pretending I’m a monster!"

Lambert did not let go. On the contrary, he only pressed the gun harder against her neck now, as if he wanted to pierce her with it. The pressure of his gun, the handcuffs constricting her arms, and the faintness that settled on her because she couldn’t free herself and help Aki, pulled her to the ground.

She felt as if she had fallen overboard during one of her expeditions in full winter gear. Her clothes greedily soaked up water and the weight tugged at her arms, legs, and the rest of her body, pulling her deeper and deeper underwater, toward the bottom. Further and further away from the saving surface and the light of day.

Wave closed her eyes.

No! No, she couldn’t go down! If only she could empty the entire ocean in one stroke, then she would be free, then even Lambert wouldn’t be able to hold her. She wanted to explode, to evaporate all the water that held her captive.

There was a rushing in her head, and once again the storm arose, swirling all her thoughts, and the pulse pounded in her ears. No, it was not her own, but the pulse of a much greater natural disaster, which not only swept the waves around but made the whole sea boil. A shock wave emanated from Wave and where there had been the sea before, white mist now floated in the air.

Then she stood in the elevator again and the wave that emanated from her pushed Lambert aside, peeling the skin from his bones and then immediately reducing them to white dust as well. The metal of the elevator bent, bulging outward until it cracked with a crunch. The walls cracked and in the distance, the glass of the windows shattered. From somewhere far away, Wave heard choppy screams and sirens, smelled burning electronics and the metallic taste of blood.

She held her breath. No, no, no ... this wasn’t what she wanted after all. Wave opened her eyes again.

Lambert had let go of her and she turned to face him. His eyes were wide, and his pupils were bouncing wildly, looking at her, then at his hands, which still had all the skin that should be there, and finally to the walls, which were also still intact.

Had he seen what Wave had seen? Something which had not really happened? It hadn’t, had it? Would something like that have happened if Wave were a monster, like her parents? Had it perhaps happened in another reality where she was that very monster? The thoughts fizzled out and she looked Lambert firmly in the eye.

"Run!" she breathed. He stared at her in disbelief, then stumbled backward toward the door. Wave gave him a shove with her shoulder and he fell to the floor in the reception area.

"In the file ... they were right ..." he stammered. "Unpredictable ..."

Wave slammed her fist against the elevator’s control panel, and the doors closed, locking the Sec out. Then the elevator started moving, heading toward the first floor.