I have not experienced any lingering effects of his compulsion. Martin Blackwood referenced nightmares as a common aftereffect, but I do not dream.
[She is not the only one who should be grateful for this fact. If Sims had infected her with yet another fear-based virus, she would not have hesitated to kill him.]
I am not deceived that this apology will serve as an expression of genuine remorse. If Sims agrees to it, he will do it in the interest of preventing future retaliation. The same can be said for Martin Blackwood.
[Partially, at least. For all the apologies the human had made, he had seemed quite reluctant towards Arid’s request of a face-to-face meeting with Sims.
At K’s next offer, Arid remembers her own considerations during her conversation with Blackwood—and the virus’s reaction. Those same misgivings begin to arise in her processor; she should not expect KD6-3.7 to endanger himself for her sake.]
They are both human, [she points out.] If either of them are hostile, you will not be able to oppose them.
[Meanwhile, if both men are unarmed—and do not have any more potent powers of compulsion between them—Arid does not doubt her own ability to dispatch them. Even if they were to carry firearms, Arid can withstand several bullets before reaching a point of critical damage.
...It would be a reassurance to have another synthetic there. But it is not necessary.
Her more serious reflections are interrupted by K’s observation.]
Perhaps they correctly assume that we find the company of other synthetics preferable to theirs.
no subject
[She is not the only one who should be grateful for this fact. If Sims had infected her with yet another fear-based virus, she would not have hesitated to kill him.]
I am not deceived that this apology will serve as an expression of genuine remorse. If Sims agrees to it, he will do it in the interest of preventing future retaliation. The same can be said for Martin Blackwood.
[Partially, at least. For all the apologies the human had made, he had seemed quite reluctant towards Arid’s request of a face-to-face meeting with Sims.
At K’s next offer, Arid remembers her own considerations during her conversation with Blackwood—and the virus’s reaction. Those same misgivings begin to arise in her processor; she should not expect KD6-3.7 to endanger himself for her sake.]
They are both human, [she points out.] If either of them are hostile, you will not be able to oppose them.
[Meanwhile, if both men are unarmed—and do not have any more potent powers of compulsion between them—Arid does not doubt her own ability to dispatch them. Even if they were to carry firearms, Arid can withstand several bullets before reaching a point of critical damage.
...It would be a reassurance to have another synthetic there. But it is not necessary.
Her more serious reflections are interrupted by K’s observation.]
Perhaps they correctly assume that we find the company of other synthetics preferable to theirs.