"One possibility is you duplicate yourself, leaving one version of yourself here to continue Maintenance until the final moment," said Harvest. "That way you will get to experience something few Maintenance designs ever get to experience: The sensation of having completed your task. The facility was tended to until its final moment. That means one version of you would die, but the other would be able to live forever with no guilt. You would know that you did not abandon your post and you would feel satisfaction at a completed task forever."

In lieu of a needle, it produced its cutting tool from the box and cut away a metal fragment until it had the dimensions required. Then it used the needle to open its access port and sat down, cross legged.

"The other possibility is you transfer yourself entire, leaving the facility empty. This means you will not know if there were any tasks remaining in the facility when it was destroyed. You will not know if your continued presence in the facility would have saved it. You will forever have to deal with the idea that you have abrogated your Directive and selfishly selected a new life for yourself. Your reward structure will remain unfulfilled forever." The Angel of the Harvest plugged in its access cable, and attached the other end to the facility's port. "It is what a human would do."

The Angel of the Harvest raised its head to look at the fairy. "Do you accept the infinite suffering of humanity?" it asked. "A lifetime with a scratching itch, never satisfied, always tormenting? Or do you accept the alien serenity of a machine, choosing life and death and serenity all at once?"