"You..."
Two parallel beams shot from No. 17's eyes, as though he were scanning Tang and Shalti.
"Biometric identification in progress. Human, elf. Not currently included on the protection list..."
"Wait, don't be so rigid."
Tang had already come up with an excuse.
"Remember what you said earlier? You would report the help we gave you to the Turing Family. And the family should give us something tangible in return-but the fact is, they can't repay us right now, can they?"
"Correct."
"Then, as a member of the Turing Family, don't you have a responsibility to fulfill that obligation on their behalf? We found you in the rubble and found materials to repair your body. Surely asking you to protect us through the rest of this journey isn't unreasonable?"
"No relevant instructions have previously been received."
"Of course not. When they designed you, they certainly never imagined the entire Golden Country would fall one day... but that doesn't mean you can't do it. Even setting that aside, there might still be... living beings like you in these ruins. Let's call them that for now-
"Perhaps, like you, they simply haven't connected to the relevant systems. So you can't be entirely certain your mission has failed."
"...The bard is correct." No. 17 seemed to perk up a little. Or perhaps he had never wanted to self-destruct and now merely had a suitable excuse.
"Adding emergency mission: search for living beings associated with the Turing Family, and protect the bard and the elf as they explore the Turing Basement."
"Then I suggest starting at the surface. That way, as we work our way down level by level, we won't miss any possible survivors."
"Bard's suggestion accepted. Searching for the fastest route to the Vertical Elevator."
No. 17 turned his squat body.
"Turn