"Perhaps," said the Angel slowly, "she particularly likes honey."

*

Archival - Sue Wade v Ganesh Prayagraj, unfair dismissal lawsuit

MAYER: What was the cause of the argument with Mr. Prayagraj?
WADE: I submitted a design for Project 06's left hand. I was really proud of the design, it met all of the specs.
MAYER: But Mr. Prayagraj didn't like it?
WADE: That's an understatement. He called me into his office and screamed at me, told me that I was worthless, a failure, that I had no soul. He said that I was barely more sentient than the chatbot that had written my doctorate thesis. It was shocking. 
MAYER: That is when he threw the desk ornament at you? 
WADE: Yes.
MAYER: What was it?
WADE: Some sort of hindu statue I think. It broke against the wall, I didn't get a good look at it.
MAYER: What made him so upset?
WADE: It was the design. I had included an extendible needle under the left fingernail to allow the robot to depress the access port button on its neck. 
MAYER: Why was this a problem?
WADE: The design brief had said 'no tools' - but I didn't even think of this as a tool. It was an emergency safety measure for use in case of field breakdowns where the machine needed to perform self maintenance. Is the lever for a car to pop the hood a 'tool'?
MAYER: Was Mr. Prayagranj this emotional about removing other safety features?
BOYDSWITCH: Objection.
JUDGE: Sustained. Keep it on topic, Mr. Mayer.
MAYER: Yes your honour. Did you say this to Mr. Prayagranj?
WADE: Yes - well, sort of. I left his office, shaken, and thought that maybe if I wrote an email and CC'd in my line manager and HR then I could explain myself. But the next thing I knew, armed security were escorting me from the building -

*

Frustrating. Its backpack had decayed. One did not think of polyester as subject to decay, but even synthetic fibers wore away after two hundred years. It had its toolbox, but the tools were probably more valuable than the honey. It had its pockets but there was a limit to how many it could fit. After casting around for a moment the most serviceable thing it could find was a plastic bucket - awkward to hold it in one hand and the toolbox in the other, but one couldn't complain too much given the circumstances.

"I cannot deter the..." its mind slid off the scope of Sandra. It had information. That wasn't reality. That was, quite possibly, madness. "Creature. But I am not using all of my hardware. Many aspects of my function are irrelevant. I can erase them and partition my mind to give you space to escape with me."

A needle. It needed to find a needle. It began searching, frustrated. It could not afford this time.

"As you said, there is a you that can die. That means there is a you that can be saved."