Ms Ember. is there a Bowman's wolf out there?

Talking dog lady? She was. She's gone now.

Will you please…

Check the building? Already done. I've sent a seeker message. I'll inform you the moment I have word of her.

If secretaries weren't territorial, they'd had organized and taken over the world long ago.

Since our time is limited, we'll get started. How are things going in Mr. Ishiguro's department?

A few keycard problems. I was locked out of the office again.

Any other problems? things going all right with the neural pruning program?

I am unaware of any problems.

Awareness has never been your strong suit.

Deniability is my strong suit. It is unrealistic to expect me to be proficient at both.

We've been talking fifteen minutes and when I ask a question, I'm not getting an answer.

Perhaps you should speak to Mr. Ishiguro. He will be back on Monday.

I'll do that. You, put off all updates to the neural pruning program until after I talk to him.

There is a scheduled update before then.

It's a minor one. Delaying it won't inconvenience anyone.

On the contrary. It is quite unacceptable because the person being inconvenienced will be me.

This will not be a problem. Gardener in the dark will go out on Friday as planned.

As everyone knows, if it's not written down, it's not a real order.

And if I can destroy the documentation, it's not written down.

I've sent messages to Mr. Ishiguro and Ms. Ambrose that the neural pruning program has been delayed. Also, your ten thirty is here.

Did you know the data pad in your waiting room doesn't work?

Odd. these are very reliable. I'll look at it later. Now, what can I do for you?

We've got a disaster in progress.

Always disasters. No one ever comes to me with nice news.

Well. If I ever have a nice disaster, you'll be the first one to know.

You're awake! Good evening!

TRASH

Talk about being a heavy sleeper. We poked you with sticks and threw old vegetables at you until finally Helix remembered about your remote and went to the ship and got it.

You are one of the few people I know who can successfully combine the expressions of gratitude and desire to maim.

I'm in a dumpster. Why am I in a dumpster?

Low rent, free food, and location, location, location.

This is the Ecosystems Unlimited building. I was here to talk to Mr. Raibert. What happened to the day? How did I end up in a dumpster?

TRASH

Let's go and find out. The door's unlocked.

Was that door unlocked thirty seconds ago?

Boy, for someone who sleeps in a dumpster, you sure are picky.

I have two seeker messages for you.

Please wait, Helix. Sam, we can't go in there.

there's maybe ten minutes before the police arrive. I'm going in. If you want to find out why you were in a dumpster you may want to come along.

I used to be such a good dog. I did what I was told. I stayed out of the garbage. And I definitely didn't participate in breaking and entries.

Here's my scent. And after me… Mr. Kornada and… I think you said his name was Varroa. I went up the stairs. They took the elevator.

Down the hall. Here's where I was lying on the floor. Varroa's footstep scent gets deeper. He's carrying me.

Is it wrong to want to bite someone you've met but don't remember?

Florence, biting people is wrong. We'll do this properly. The next time we see Mr. Jacobsoni, we'll give him a wedgie and take his wallet.

Do you suppose Mr. Raibert works for Mr. Kornada?

No idea.

Mr. Raibert seemed like a nice guy. I'm going to leave him a hint on how to decrypt my data pad. Even if he's working for Kornada, he may no know the full story.

And Sam? please put the coffee pots back in the break room.

You saw me take those? You must have eyes in the back of your head.