INT. THE CUBE – LATE MORNING
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The three sit around the cube’s makeshift living room—a lumpy couch, a tiny table, and now, a pristine blanket laid carefully on the floor where Emily’s data pod rests, humming softly.
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K crouches nearby, gently adjusting a tiny cooling patch on the pod's surface like a practiced medic.
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JASON (muttering, impressed)
"Wow. Didn’t think you of all murder gremlins would be the motherly type."
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K flicks his optic lazily toward Jason, then returns to fussing over the pod.
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K (flatly)
"Efficient survival ensures the continuity of species."
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JASON (grinning)
"Translation: You like the kid, admit it."
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A sits beside the pod with a storybook—not that Emily can read yet, but it doesn’t stop him from showing her colorful illustrations.
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A (brightly, to Emily)
"This is a cow! It goes ‘moo.’ This is a firetruck! It goes ‘woo-woo!’ And this is Jason—he goes 'aaaaah' when he stubs his toe."
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Jason throws a pillow at A’s head.
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JASON (snickering)
"At least I don’t split my face open to eat a sandwich."
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A smirks and ruffles Emily’s pod surface softly.
The room feels weirdly warm... normal.
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Jason, ever the corrupting influence, leans closer to the pod conspiratorially.
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JASON (whispering to Emily)
"Listen up, kid. First rule of survival—never pay for overpriced coolant at chain stores. And second rule—always insult your enemies’ processors before you smash 'em."
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Emily’s pod hums innocently.
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Before he can spill more questionable wisdom, A’s optic narrows dangerously.
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A (sternly)
"Jason Gearman, you are banned from education duties."
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JASON (mock hurt)
"WHAT? I was giving life lessons!"
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A (folding arms)
"Corner. Now."
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K silently points to the farthest, saddest corner of the cube.
Jason trudges over dramatically, slumping against the wall like a punished cat.
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JASON (grumbling)
"This is oppression."
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K (deadpan)
"You deserve worse."
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---
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TIME SKIP – MIDDAY
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Emily naps peacefully on her blanket.
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Jason sneaks back to the couch, only to find A and K deep in conversation—of all things—about robot intimacy systems.
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A (curious, whispering)
"I still don’t get it. So when two robots... you know... how does it even work?"
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Jason perks up immediately, sensing forbidden topics.
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JASON (grinning like the devil)
"Well, it's more code-based than... physical. Technically, you don’t need a body to mix code. Two bots sync their operating systems and allow their base codes to interact."
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K hums thoughtfully.
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K (tapping chin)
"Programs exchanging information at core level... sounds like a strategic resource merge."
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A (wide-eyed)
"And... babies happen when their codes mix, right?"
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JASON (nodding)
"Yup. Two codes—sometimes more if you're into complicated networks—merge and start a self-writing program inside a data pod. It grows on its own, bit by bit, until the pod tells you it’s ready to be upgraded to a proper body."
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A thinks about it seriously.
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A (tilting head)
"So technically, two robots of the same model, same type... even same gender identity... can still have a kid?"
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JASON (grinning)
"Exactly. No squishy biology bullshit. Pure logic... and chaos."
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K (murmuring)
"Efficient."
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Jason leans back smugly.
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JASON (grinning wider)
"Romance, marriage, all that? Optional. But if two idiots love each other enough to smash their codes together and raise a tiny chaos gremlin... well, that's commitment."
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A looks down at Emily's sleeping pod.
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A (softly)
"Sounds nice."
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Jason, noticing the tone, shifts a little uncomfortably.
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JASON (teasing, but a little gentle)
"You planning to make tiny yous one day, A?"
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A (smiling shyly)
"Maybe. One day."
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K shrugs.
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K (calm)
"Would be nice to have backup."
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Jason bursts out laughing at that answer.
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The chaos continues—Jason tries to sneak-feed Emily "forbidden knowledge" about tax fraud, gets caught again and sentenced to another round in the Sad Corner.
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Meanwhile, A and K actually turn out to be amazing babysitters.
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The afternoon passes in a weird bubble of peace, laughter, and the tiny sound of Emily’s happy humming.
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