10 THE RAT
Peter encountered a five-foot tall humanoid unit in a white jacket at the tray-return station near the cafeteria door. “I hope you enjoyed your respite,” the android said. “May I take your cup, sir?”
The robot was an early model in the human-replica K-series designed for domestic use. It was life-like, but the short stature and odd speech pattern—only a machine would say “respite” rather than “break”—distinguished it from the real thing. Peter’s work on the project produced this potential money-maker for Cybernetic Implementation. As a result, the Valois house had the latest, much improved version in the K-series to field test.
Peter placed his mug in the outstretched hand, and the robot returned an eerie smile.
The vacant bench in Peter’s lab that should accommodate a
