Struggling for control of her emotions, Sophia’s porcelain face was marred by the slightest hint of a frown as she coldly looked at the three robots. The first thing her feelings reminded her of was the frustration she felt in her first year at the New Constantinople University. Being treated as expendable – as someone who, in all likelihood, would drop out by the end of the first semester – and being constantly faced with her own ignorance, had been one of the worst experiences of her life. The number of times both her teachers and her parents had berated her for misremembering obscure details or failing to meet impossible deadlines was too great to consider; and the things she had considered doing – and sometimes had done – to get some reprieve from it all… better not to dwell on it. Besides, it had made her a better person in the end.

“My full name,” white-hairs sharply added after Mavriq designated her role and offered her a brief pause in speech to interject in, “is Sophia Arietta Hagiotheodorites. I won’t insist, lieutenant d’Agenais, but you could try.”

After punishing Mavriq with a brief, wintry stare to make sure he understood her displeasure, she returned her attention to the trio of androids who appeared to acknowledge her input. At least they would not mispronounce her name, she hoped, although not even of that she could be sure of these days. Personality imprints had become as pervasive and irritating as a new disease with no known cure. Everywhere she turned, machines were pretending to be human, wearing friendly faces like grisly masks to hide their uncaring algorithms. She was not a Luddite or paranoid like some; indeed, she liked machines. But she much preferred them to avoid falling into the depths of the uncanny valley. The pursuit of imprinting human personas on artificial constructs was not only a waste of resources but also a pointless endeavor that produced only the stuff of nightmares.

---

A little while later, as the group reemerged into the public section of the MOS, Vin, the augmented tech specialist of the team, turned to the others and, surprisingly, offered to have a drink together. Sophia hadn’t taken him for that kind of socialite and felt strangely humbled by her misinterpretation of his character. Even so, the idea of going to a pub thoroughly disgusted her in more ways than she could logically enumerate in her head before feeling pressured for an answer. What little hesitation she had, however, was enough for Cass – that crude, underprivileged and thoroughly dangerous woman – to take the initiative and once again prove just how vulgar her sensibilities were.

“Fuck yeah,” she exclaimed with a maddened grin, offering her fist to Vin – presumably expecting some tribal, gesture-based response to underline their mutual approval. Sophia rolled her eyes.

“I’m afraid I have other business that needs attending,” Sophia cut in, somewhat raising her voice in order to be heard over both Cass’s excitement, and the din of the street. “But I am sure we will have ample opportunities to socialize in the future. So – until next time, ladies and gents.”

Barely waiting for any sort of answer, Sophia awkwardly shuffled off and disappeared in the crowd, headed off to who knows where. Probably to a personal luxury shuttle, if Cass were to take a guess. Not that she cared at that moment.

“Whatever,” she shrugged, “I’m down for drinking all night if you want. I haven’t felt this awesome in like, forever. What about you, boss?”

She turned from Vin to shoot a questioning glance at Mavriq, who appeared momentarily surprised by the current turn of events himself.