“Thwart had nothing to do with it,” said the hippo, sitting beside Thal on a ratty gold sofa in another room. “Everything that happened was my fault.”
“But somebody had to have programmed you,” said Thal.
“Not anymore,” said the hippo. “I’ve evolved. I’m an autonomous A.I. these days. Strictly a free agent.”
Thal pushed off the sofa and paced the room. “You’re trying to tell me no one sent you after me?”
“That’s right,” said the hippo. “It was all my idea.”
“So why’d you come after me then? Why choke me in the Series?”
The hippo sighed. “I guess I wanted to teach you a lesson. The free will I developed came with a conscience, and it made me feel bad about the things I’d done for you. All the players whose careers I’d ruined.”
“I don’t believe this,” said Thal, kicking a ch
