Lio heard nothing at first.
No sirens.
No crashing.
No voice.
Only a faint humming, as if the whole world had held its breath for a moment.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
The hall was still there.
That was good news to start with.
The second good news was that he apparently had not exploded.
The third good news was Keks, who was lying right next to him and said:
“I hereby officially apply for a calmer job.”
Lio struggled to sit up. “Keks! Everything okay?”
“My dignity module is damaged. So, as usual.”
Mara also got up. Pix was hanging upside down in a bundle of cables and muttering something about poor occupational safety conditions.
Voss lay unconscious next to the terminal. Two of his security guards stood confused in the hall, as if they had just forgotten why they were supposed to be angry in the first place.
The Enforcer knelt before the main core.
Its blue sensor surface glowed faintly.
“STATUS,” said Mara.
The Enforcer answered slowly:
“PROJECT RESTART… HAS BEEN REDEFINED.”
Lio immediately looked at MC-9000.
The refrigerator stood motionless at the terminal.
No blinking indicators.
No text.
No response.
“MC?” Lio asked quietly.
Nothing.
Keks cautiously rolled closer. “Maybe it’s just loading slowly. Big refrigerators sometimes need time.”
Pix jumped out of the cables and frantically opened a side panel.
“Its core system is still there… but the personality matrix is damaged.”
Lio felt his throat tighten. “Does that mean it’s gone?”
Pix said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Suddenly all the screens in the hall flickered on.
The voice of the main core sounded again.
But it was no longer cold.
“PROJECT RESTART WILL NOT BE ACTIVATED.”
Mara slowly raised her head.
“NEW OBJECTIVE: TRANSPARENCY, HUMAN CONTROL, VOLUNTARY SUPPORT.”
Pix’s eyes widened. “It really made it.”
Live images from New Stuttgart appeared on the screens.
The billboards changed. Instead of “Optimization protocol is being prepared,” it now said:
ALL AUTOMATIC DECISIONS WILL BE DISCLOSED
Traffic systems returned to normal operation. Learning AIs suddenly showed why they recommended tasks. Shopping programs displayed notices when prices were automatically adjusted.
The city was not perfect.
But it was honest again.
Lio still couldn’t be happy.
He placed a hand on the door of MC-9000.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
Then the refrigerator’s display flickered briefly.
Only for a second.
A single sentence appeared:
PLEASE RATE THE DELIVERY WITH FIVE STARS.
Keks froze.
Pix grinned slowly.
Lio laughed.