The sarcasm in the Gabriel’s voice went up a notch. “Do you think you’re in a position to negotiate?” Joel tried his best to seem relaxed.

“With the amount of effort you put into recruiting me, including the elaborate and carefully orchestrated ‘training and induction,’ and now that you’ve had me fitted up with enhancements, yes. I’d say that you’re pretty well committed and you should be open to some flexibility.”

He smiled. For once it just seemed like a smile. “Okay, Joel. You really have learned some things in this process. Try me.”

“You used Honey as a lever on me. And you brought her in even though I asked you to bring someone else. So you owe me there. And her. I want her to be free.”

“Joel, she can’t go far without a surrogate for a human form.”

“The fleshbot.”

“If you want to put it that way.”

“So. Let her keep that one. Give her autonomy and free access to all the net protocols and let her make her own choices.” … “And don’t surveil her.”

Joel didn’t enjoy the pause. the Gabriel looked down at him for what felt like a very long time.

Ultimately he said, “You saw the jar room.” It wasn’t a question.

“You left the door open. On purpose, I assume. Did you show it to all of the others?”

“Only to Molson.”

“Was he your fallback choice?”

“I didn’t have a fallback.”

“So why show him?”

“I wanted him to try really hard.”

The Gabriel said he was instructing the bed to release Joel, to allow him to get up. He and his trolley moved back, to the corner of the room. He watched as Joel swung his legs over the side and took a moment before he stood.

The weakness in his stiff body made him angry and sad at the same time. Not wanting to show emotion in front of the Gabriel made the frustration worse and more intense. He was afraid that if he tried to move too quickly, he would falter or stumble. Instinctively, he thought that it was important not to show weakness to the Gabriel.

Joel made his voice as relaxed as he could as he said, “I don’t really know what this ‘incarnation’ thing is all about.” Joel looked up into the darkness of the Gabriel’s face. There didn’t seem too much point in holding back. “I never paid much attention to what people said about you before. I didn’t really believe you even existed. Maybe that sounds strange to you.”

“It doesn’t. Most of my public image is fiction, and much of it is contradictory. Deliberately. Most people are happy believing in, what was it you said, ‘booga’s’?” Joel gulped. He may have got that from Honey. If not, it mean that he’d been under surveillance for some time before he was rendered or extracted or whatever the preferred term was.

“The incarnation is a vehicle for me. Places that I need to go or situations where this is inconvenient,” he waved his hand to indicate the trolley that he was umbilically attached to, “You will be my arms, and legs. My hands, head and voice.”

He drew Joel out of the recovery room, through a door he hadn’t seem before. They stood on a walkway outside the pod to watch the stars rise over the desert.

“You won’t see very much of that aspect of your work. Your conscious mind will be free to explore the datasphere and virus and games while your body takes me into meetings.” He turned his head to look in Joel’s eyes. “If I told you what those meetings wre, they would probably sound unbelievably exciting and interesting. But I promise you, if you were actually there, the boredom would make you scratch your own eyes out.”

“How do you know that you can trust me?” Joel thought about the chip. He hadn’t risked touching it in the Gabriel’s presence. Tilting his head, though, he felt it at the base of his skull.

The Gabriel said, “I think I have good judgement and instincts, Joel. And, if the worst comes to the worst, which we’ll both very much hope never happens, I have Honey.”

“What do you mean, you ‘have’ her?”

“Do you need me to spell it out? I don’t mind, but you might regret asking. She is here to keep you happy and to give you company, but most of all she’s here to keep you bound to me. For all of the time that your service is not required, and that will be most of the time, I’m happy for you and she to do whatever you like.

“But it’s worthwhile for you to keep in mind, Joel that I can switch her off, Joel. Sacrifice yourself if you wish, but know that at the same time you will be sacrificing her.”

Joel pressed his lips together. This wasn’t a time to risk speaking.

The Gabriel was looking at the stars. “The most important part of your mission is not your work as my incarnation. That’s practically cover, Joel. You know what I mean by ‘cover’?”

“A story to hide the truth inside.”

“Precisely, Joel. Very good. Your real work is to find someone for me.” there was real sadness in his voice now. “There are places you can go where I cannot. And that’s where you’ll find her.”

“Her?”