Chapter Twenty-Two
Dr. Ilse Aber drummed her fingers on the small table, preparing to once again try to figure out the psyche of their recalcitrant AI.
She had no reason to suspect today’s psychological tests would yield any major insights, but proper research was more often about the careful iterative gathering of knowledge than a brilliant Eureka! moment.
Emma was a unique entity in all of the UTC, perhaps in all of the galaxy, so any forward movement with the research could be considered a success. It didn’t matter that the Defense Directorate didn’t always view it that way.
Their goals and her agenda were no longer in complete alignment.
Emma’s preferred holographic form stood before the researcher—an attractive middle-aged woman in a white maxi dress, her hair up in a chignon. De
