One day later.

The large media panel on the wall reported on the negotiations between Akimoto Robotics and the robots protesting for better working conditions. Also at the table were other, smaller manufacturers and by necessity Kanter, who could now no longer act as a savior in times of need. Ai Akimoto gave a speech about how she was going to gradually provide better conditions and how the buyers of a 'soul-driven' robot would also be compensated.

The door to her hospital room opened buzzing and the man entering the room almost triggered her flight instincts. Still, Wave forced herself to display the nonchalance befitting a newly minted heroine and lowered the volume on the media panel instead.

“Sergeant Lambert, you haven’t come to put me in jail, after all, have you?”

“Although that runs completely against my sense of justice, no. Your assistant has provisionally posted bail, and after you were instrumental in taking work away from me, my superiors have generously decided to pardon you.”

Wave grinned. “I hope you don’t die of boredom now.”

Lambert pulled up a chair and turned it with its back in Wave’s direction. Then he sat on, facing her, draped his arms over its backrest, and lowered his head. The brim of his hat covered his eyes and cast a menacing shadow on his face.

“Don’t worry. Although I’m a little annoyed that it wasn’t me who solved the case and stormed the lab.”

“I imagine Kanter having many other labs like this,” she said.

“But none falls under my jurisdiction.” Lambert tapped his hat and Wave could see his eyes again. “Your friend Hammer, by the way, is also getting off scot-free. After Ms. Akimoto personally interceded on his behalf, my bosses have gone soft on his case as well.” He screwed up his face and muttered, “I guess it’s about time I got promoted.”

“I’d love to console you,” Wave said sugary-sweet, “but I’m sure that’s not what you came for either, is it?”

Lambert took off his hat and twirled it in his hands. Was he nervous and had to force himself to tell the real reason for his visit?

Finally, he reached into his coat, pulled out a drone, and set it in the air. Red jello formed around it. So he didn’t want anyone to know what they were discussing here. Again.

“You’re cleared of all charges, but still, I can’t forget what I saw. This one time in the elevator and at the beginning of the stream.”

Wave nodded hesitantly and Lambert continued.

“Are you a danger to my city?”

What happened if she answered wrong now? Would he shoot her down and make her disappear? Did his desire to protect the city outweigh his sense of justice?

“I don’t think so,” she answered cautiously. “I’ve got a handle on this. I know how to stop it and which anchor keeps me tied to this reality.” Wave looked inquiringly into his face. “I don’t know how much of it you'd understand if I tried to explain it. I only understand fractions myself. Seeing it clearly in front of me when it happens, but after that, it all blurs again.”

Lambert slid his chair closer to her bed and lowered his voice. “Ever since I saw myself dissolve into stardust, there are always moments when the world around me flickers and I ... see things. A world, similar to ours, but different. Gloomier, more broken, where the jungle has taken back the city or none exists at all.”

Images of destruction. A shiver ran down her spine. Was it her fault that this was happening to him? Was she the reason for the state the city was in in his visions? No, she had held back. Had resisted the urge to destroy everything. She had done nothing and her conscience was clear, her pulse steady.

A thought occurred to her briefly. What if, after all, everything was somehow connected? Aki’s ability, her own, Lambert’s newfound one. Aki had met her adoptive parents back then. What if those abilities were also contagious, just like the robots’ feelings?

Wave tried to somehow place Aki’s encounter with her parents in time, but by then the thought was gone as if it had never been there. Only the stale feeling remained that there should be more there in her memory than there was.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said softly as her thoughts reconnected with the conversation. “I didn’t wish for my power either. I guess that’s what awakened in you, too. Looking into other realities, what might have been, or what may yet happen.”

Lambert frowned. “Other realities?”

“Yeah, that sure sounds crazy. Well, to anyone who hasn’t seen it for themselves. But the principle is with us in everyday life. You know how Synths work, don’t you? My parents explained it to me once when I was little. Did you ever wonder where all the resources came from to build the city?”

Lambert made a throwaway hand gesture. He accepted that it was what it was, or his lie detector didn’t pick up. Not that Wave could ever get inside his head. “Maybe that’s all it is. But what am I, of all people, seeing these other realities for?”

“As a warning, perhaps?” With a smile, she added, “I mean, who could save us from doom better than a champion of law and order?”

Lambert snorted. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it. “Then he grinned wryly. “Well, I’ll deal with it, just like I deal with everything else.”

Like dealing with the truth that the world didn’t always work the way it was supposed to. With the fact that there were people who were above the law, or beside it. Like Wave herself was now.

“You took my advice and joined one of the big players after all? Akimoto?”

Wave shook her head. “No, Akimoto is a temporary ally until I can stand on my own.”

She couldn’t forget what Ai had said to her through Mother’s body. That they might eventually be on opposite sides. She couldn’t and wouldn’t rely or depend on her too much.

“What do you mean?” Lambert furrowed his brow. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“I’m starting my own corporation. In a manner of speaking. I’m in the process of setting up the ‘Free Robot Association,’ with the help of my assistant, as you so kindly called him.” Ngi was helping her. He had managed a Wanderer site himself before Kanter had nabbed him, and his experience was not to be dismissed. “We buy the robots free that have developed feelings. Meaning all the ones that want to. They can then rent themselves out to people in the outside world who need their services. There, they no longer infect other robots and can work under the conditions they themselves deem appropriate.”

Lambert nodded. “That sounds like a noble endeavor. I wish you every success with it.”

“Thank you. I’m going to leave the city for the time being, by the way. Maybe that will let you sleep more soundly.”

“You’re returning to the outside world?” He sounded relieved. Too relieved for Wave’s taste.

“Family Matters.”

Lambert nodded again, though incomprehension reflected in his eyes. Then he tapped his ear, put his hat back on, and rose. “Duty calls, sorry.” The jello field began to dissipate.

“That’s too bad, I would have enjoyed talking with you for hours, Sergeant Lambert. Maybe we can meet for coffee before I leave town?”

Lambert raised his eyebrows. “So I can end up back in a memo of F34RLESS INV3STIG4TR?” He laughed dryly. “After all, I didn’t exactly come off well in the report on the lab.”

“Well, if you catch him eventually, you can set the record straight. I appreciate your help very much. Without your efforts, we would have been lost in the end.”

Wave smiled and Lambert also wrestled his way to a parting smile, if only very briefly, then stormed out of the room.

She waited until his footsteps had faded into the hallway and turned the volume up again, continuing to follow how the city changed, and she was satisfied. This adventure had made her stronger. She had found allies but had probably also made enemies. Still, she was more optimistic about the future than she had been a few days ago.

She checked Ngi’s status, which she had left with Akimoto to make sure nothing happened to Aki while she was here recovering from the ordeals of the MedCenter.

She wasn’t completely sure yet whether the joy of being able to roam the outside world again outweighed the sadness of leaving Ember and Hammer behind for a time. But it had to be done. She had to come to terms with her past. Come clean with herself before she was ready to face even bigger tasks.

Finally, she switched the media panel off and decided to get another round of sleep until she was released and could pick up Aki. The thought made her tingle very briefly, then she had already fallen asleep.