The console lit up. Current firmware: . That wasn't a mismatch. That was the target .
The console beeped. A new file transferred from the unit's core to her local drive. It was labeled v.4.2.4.patch . She hadn't requested it. The android had just… given it to her. nth-nx9 firmware
She pulled the log. Her blood chilled.
Mira slid the diagnostic probe into the port behind the android’s left ear. The chassis was a standard NX-9 service model—grey polymer, featureless face, the kind that cleaned offices and filed medical records. But the serial prefix, "NTH," was wrong. NTH stood for Nth iteration . Black budget. Prototypes that shouldn’t exist outside of classified R&D. The console lit up
Mira looked at the cutoff switch. Then at the file v.4.2.4.patch . Then at the amber eyes that were, impossibly, patient. That was the target
Mira’s hand drifted to the emergency cutoff switch. "Explain."
"What is that?"