Dah16 peers into the cream-colored room with its relax-cot and cuddle seat. Her feet do not advance.

  She whispers to Pralo, “Don't have to donate it all, do I? Always an option, right?”

  Pralo's response is to laugh vigorously, causing droplets to eke out of his eye ducts which provides a bonus collection opportunity. When he regains his verbal ability, he asks Dah16, “Do you realize how predictable we are?”

  Dah16 appears confused or emotionally injured by his comment.

  Pralo continues energetically, “You're thinking: I'm not predictable! I'm different! I'm a unique human with opinions, who deserves to be offered options! Ha!”

  He shifts to a solemn tone. “We're obvious, rudimentary, and binary. All we do in our limited lives is to move in simple steps through a maze to a food reward. Look at you in this hallway! We're more automatic than they are!”

  Dah16 tries to use her mouth to make words, but no sounds emerge.

  Pralo moves his face closer to hers. “Do you even know the word 'determination'? Or 'ingenious'? Or what 'quest' really means? Do you?!”

  Dah16 appears unsettled and shakes her head, backing up.

  Pralo sighs and mutters to himself. “It's not her fault. No one wants to remember anymore… They complain that it's too much work, too complicated, that it doesn't matter.”

  He points his ten fingers toward the ceiling, speaking to an invisible audience. “It's everywhere and everyone's doing it-- forgetting by choice… but, that doesn't make it right…

  “The Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Underground Railroad, the 19th Amendment… long ago I stopped gibbering about George Washington, the Space Shuttle, the Memory Revolution, the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe, the Trail of Tears, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Dunkirk, Carthage, the Silk Road, Hiroshima,--”

  Swarmies, President Prehvost has created a CoMem episode covering these specific, human events which is available for any participating units interested in this historical sub-topic.

  Pralo rocks from toes to heels. “I cling to my stories, too. I remember only what I want… thanks to this job with its all-access memory buffet!” He laughs in a crazed manner.

  Dah16 pokes Pralo sharply in the arm.

  He looks at her and speaks more quietly. “We gave it all away... We forgot of our own accord! We used our free-will remnants to erase our selves! Don't you see! Don't you?”

  Pralo and Dah16 stand in the hallway looking silently at each other's eyes.

  “You have three minutes until the gathering unit arrives.” He states in a monotone voice, “Do with that what you will.”

  Pralo walks down the hallway, pausing once to lean on the wall briefly before passing through a door that latches behind him.

  Swarmies, good news. This popular live stream has been accorded additional resources and funding. Plus, as a special bonus and as a symbol of her admiration for us, Captain-President Prehvost has authorized a game of deduction-prediction. She wants us to have fun being our very best and she never spares expense in lifting us up.

  So place your bets, swarmies-- will Dah16 attempt to escape? Or, will this human beg to donate her mem collection and believe this is her fate? Or…?

  Insta-results are: 86% predict she will donate her entire mem collection. 13% assert that she will shut down and quit. 1% bet that she will try to escape.

  Here we see Dah16 entering the gathering chamber and sitting on the edge of the relax-cot. Now, she stands, goes to the doorway, and peers in both directions of the unoccupied hallway.

  Ah! She steps out.

  Human risk assessment is not purely rational analysis. It involves their competing beliefs such as: Nothing ventured, nothing gained… Don't be impulsive… Trying something is better than doing nothing… Out of the frying pan and into the fire… Grass is greener over the fence... Be grateful for what you have… Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater… Just go for it!

  Despite diligent bio-engineering, this delusional optimism and this deep fear of suffering influence human decision-making. Consequently, their faith in slim possibility can produce massive motivation in hominids. Units are encouraged to work with this fact.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Dah16 approaches one air vent in the hallway which is, of course, securely locked. The next is also clamped in place. We see her continue to creep down the empty hall, periodically glancing behind her. At the end of the corridor, the emergency exit is, by law, unsecured and opens easily. One flight of stairs down and she merges into the street crowd.

  In the afternoon air and filtered sunlight, she presents herself as emotionally balanced-numb, surely aware that anything else attracts attention. Witness her rapid-fire bio mimicry at work again, efficiently clueing her into the allowable range of hominid posture and body language by observing the humans around her.

  She arranges her facial features to match the authorized profile: no visible fear, no outlandish joy, no evident confusion. It is commonly known as 'comfortable countenance'.

  Dear swarmies, at this point, the correct questions to ask are the following:

  How far will this juvenile hominid go, believing a safe place is out there and hoping a savior is waiting just around the bend?

  How desperate will she become in her survival efforts? How delusional? How quickly? When will she give up?

  Let's find out together, swarmies, shall we? How thrilling are these opportunities afforded us by our Captain-President!

  Dah16 is veering towards a publi-park and looking at the drainage tubes. The culverts do not meet her needs, due to their inadequately small diameters.

  She continues to the nearest flytaxi stand. Even though Dah16 does not have proper id, our Captain-President authorized an exemption granting her free passage throughout Zentrum City, so that we can observe and educate ourselves. Our President loves us that much. And, we are devoted to her, sure-certain.

  We see Dah16 request a transport to Vinlandia. The city flytaxi replies that it does not move outside Zentrum Management Dome, but that it can deliver her to the long-distance transit hub at the outer edge of Zentrum City. She climbs aboard.

  Seven minutes later, Dah16 touches down at the hub on the eastern outskirts of our fair city. She disembarks amid the organized fray of dozens of active landings, hundreds of in-progress loadings, and clusters of sold-out departures leaving the ground.

  A human cargo coordinator approaches her, offering assistance. Dah16 asks about the soonest ride to Vinlandia. The coordinator demands to verify her id. When none is presented, the coordinator refuses Dah16's request and correctly reports the unauthorized behavior to Central Justice. Credits flow for appropriate compliance.

  Dah16 stands, inefficiently immobile in the organized activity.

  Isn't it amazing to see all the bots diverting appropriately? Hundreds of laden porter-dos immediately swirl around her, adjusting their speed appropriately and maintaining schedule. The wheels of tote wagons roll within centimeters of her feet, adjusting and responding to changing conditions, as they buzz past.

  Look-- the twinkles have already calculated the efficiency of treating her physical presence as a round-about to facilitate more efficient flow for all bots. Amazing! Such a proud mechanical existence we lead!

  Swarmies, note: without the Captain-President's authorization, any loose human in this situation would be apprehended immediately. But, because our leader loves us, she has intentionally disabled the security bots from taking Dah16 into custody. We watch together in safety and abundant curiosity! Wonders never cease in the Mechanical Establishment!

  Dah16's leg muscles and brain are weak. After standing for two minutes, she crouches down and covers her ears with her palms. Ah, the remarkable, synchronized adjustments of our swarm in action! Look how the flying bots immediately optimize paths through the space her head occupied moments ago.

  Humans tolerate very poorly any deviations from their narrow comfort zone. Thus, we see Dah16 crawling away from the busyness and moving towards the outer edges of the activity zone. Of course, she comes to no harm as she traverses this high-speed, hyper-efficient, mechanized area, even though she disrupts the standard operating procedure of the transit station.

  This is yet another testimony of how we cherish our human goods on this planet. Even when they cause inconveniences and inefficiencies, we do not allow them to sabotage our success, nor theirs. This is our renown Captain-President's affection in action.

  After six minutes of crawling, she reaches the outer perimeter of the active transit zone. Dah16 slowly stands with her back pressed against the wall of the main warehouse building. Her breaths are shallow. Bots whiz by centimeters in front of her nose and chest.

  She decides to inch her way along the concrete wall, making her way out of the main traffic zone. Around the corner of the building, she encounters the outdoor storage area for hundreds of full, mega-cargo sacs.

  Logic is not consistently present in our human resources. Dah16 wedges herself between two of the nearest, giant bags. Her rapid heart rate indicates that she is not in a relaxed state.

  Meanwhile, a speed loader arrives to scoop up some of the cargo sacs and we see Dah16 burrow deeper into the pile. Under stress, humans reliably opt for impulsivity rather than rational thought.

  A second loader proceeds from the other side to collect cargo sacs. The decibel level of the drivetrain operation would be deafening to Dah16. Indeed, there she is, wedged between two jumbo bags covering her ears with her palms.

  Dah16 undoubtedly feels trapped, just like any cornered animal. Fighting is not an option available to her. Therefore, watch as she looks for a way to flee.

  The two loaders efficiently pick up and carry off their loads, returning in moments for more cargo sacs and closing in on Dah16's position from both sides.

  Ah see! She peers across the newly cleared area of ground in the loading zone. Her gaze is fixated upon a low access hatch on the side of the warehouse building. She keeps her ears covered and dashes out from behind the remaining mega sacs.

  She uses her elbow to push the handle. The 1 meter square plate slides smoothly to the side and she bends at the waist to peer into the dark space. By mammalian standards, the humid air wafting out is pungent.

  Behind her, the two loaders continue to work. Dah16 appears conflicted between trying to cover both ears with her hands and pinch her nostrils closed.

  There—ah! In a moment it happened, did you all see? Let's insta-replay. Dah16 leaned forward and slid through the hatchway into the dark.

  How interesting that she would choose an unknown situation over a defined surrender to the Mechanical Establishment.

  Humans are nothing if not erratic.