Simone, a female-identifying android, is part of a scientific team sent ahead of the first colony to return to Earth, which is finally habitable again after centuries of radiation recovery. She mostly finds her human crewmates irritating, and the most irritating by far is Dr. Lucy Zhong, who slowly becomes Simone's best friend, more important to her than anyone else has ever been.
When Lucy is fatally injured, she kisses Simone during her last moments of consciousness. Only then does Simone realize they may be more than friends. To save Lucy, Simone places her in the last functioning cryo-pod, even though this means sacrificing another crewmember. Simone's programming should not permit that kind of choice, but if this is a malfunction, Simone doesn't care as long as it saves Lucy.
When the colony ship arrives, Lucy is revived, and discovers it’s her turn to play rescuer, as Simone has been slated for deactivation. Does the android's "malfunction" mean she returns Lucy's feelings? If Lucy can't save her beloved Simone, she'll never find out.
Programming By Shelly Greene Like every Ship’s Assistant android, Simone had basic medical programming, but with the med bay destroyed by the fuel battery explosion, there was little she could do. Once the fire was extinguished, she had cleaned and bandaged Dr. Zhong’s injuries, but infection had quickly worsened into septicemia. Simone could not even slow it down. There was no one to call for help. Earth was only now recovering enough from radiation to be resettled, and the crew of the Curie, sent ahead as prep team for the first colony ship, were the only human beings within many lightyears. Simone had sole responsibility for protecting her crew. On the fourth day after the explosion, Simone found the makeshift med bay empty, and Dr. Zhong—Lucy, she had asked Simone to call her Lucy—
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