"Program installed."

*

Footsteps echo, back and forth through a crowd of voices. Humans. Androids.

"I don't think this is worth it. We can go back. We can cancel the deal," a voice pleads.

Lights flicker. Computers attempt to reconnect.

"It's the only way we'll get him back. Don't you understand? We need to do this," a woman responds.

Two hands slide over arms crafted from synthetic flesh. Sensors attached to a metal skeletal frame react. The fingers twitch. Eyes flutter open.

"Please, we can find another way."

The light overhead shifts, changing, flickering still.

"There isn't another way," the woman hisses. "And I can't say no."

|||