EXT. CENTRAL CITY STREETS – EVENING
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The trio strolls back toward the cube, the neon lights humming softly against the dusk. Jason still carries the medicine bag, but his mouth hasn't stopped moving since they left the store.
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JASON (grinning like a devil)
"You know, of all the things you could've grabbed... You had to pick the robot intimacy enhancer. Real smooth, A. Real natural."
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A trails behind, pulling the hoodie of his coat up in embarrassment.
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A (grumbling)
"I just thought it looked nice..."
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JASON (mockingly sweet)
"Oh, sure. Next thing you know you’re pouring it into your coffee. 'Mmm, tastes like desperate mistakes.'"
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K chuckles lowly from behind his scarf, amused at the chaos.
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A (defensive, mumbling)
"It wasn't on purpose..."
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Jason snorts and shakes his head, then tosses a glance over his shoulder at the two.
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JASON
"Which reminds me—since you two seem weirdly curious about it—might as well explain how robot babies are made."
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He clears his throat dramatically, making A and K visibly brace for whatever nonsense he's about to say.
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JASON (mock teacher voice)
"Step one: No, you don’t just mash bodies together. We’re not cavemen. Sexual interactions? Fun, maybe—depending on your firmware—but totally useless for making kids."
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A (wide-eyed)
"Then... how?"
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Jason wiggles his fingers like he's sprinkling fairy dust.
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JASON
"Magical code-mixing, my innocent child. Two or more robots can combine their programs—their operating cores, their quirks, their bugs—and shove it into a data pod."
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He points a thumb to his head.
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JASON
"Once it’s in there, it starts developing a whole new program by itself, based on the stuff it inherited. It evolves, learns, becomes something unique."
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K (casually)
"And gender?"
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JASON
"Pfft. Irrelevant. Code doesn’t care about meatspace nonsense. Two guys, two gals, one toaster and a vending machine—you name it, they can have a kid if they mix their programs right."
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A’s eyes light up with amazement, while K just looks faintly disturbed.
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A
"So after...?"
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JASON
"After the code stabilizes, the pod pings the guardians. Then you yank the developing memory chip out and install it into a bigger, mobile body."
(beat)
"Congratulations, it’s a terrible toddler who’s gonna wreck your life."
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A ponders this deeply, like he just unlocked some universal secret. Jason stretches, the bag of meds swinging on his wrist.
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JASON (grinning)
"And that, my dearest creeps, is why society isn’t full of wild robot orgies—because love and babies are two different nightmares."
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They walk for a beat in silence, before Jason turns slightly toward K.
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JASON (curious)
"Ever seen any Purifiers have kids?"
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K shrugs casually, the city lights painting stripes of gold and blue across his jacket.
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K
"We’re not social. We don’t build families. We hunt. We survive. Barely talk unless we have to. Most of us... don’t even think about it."
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A (softly)
"That's... kind of lonely."
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K (flatly)
"I like it that way."
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Jason hums thoughtfully, slowing his pace a little to walk between them.
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JASON (casually)
"Well, congratulations. You're stuck in a 'family' now. No returns, no refunds."
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A (smiling)
"I'm fine with that."
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K (grumbling quietly)
"...Tolerable."
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Jason just chuckles, shaking his head, as they turn onto the familiar street leading back toward the cube.
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FADE OUT.
ns216.73.216.194da2
