As soon as they stepped off the escalator onto the so-called second floor—actually two levels underground—various voices filled the air. The further down they went, the louder they grew.

  Ahead of them stood a small group: two men and two women. They were dressed better than Daniel and Jasper, and most importantly, they weren’t wearing gloves. These were humans.

  The women turned toward them, gave them a quick glance, then resumed their conversation. Along the walls, more people were scattered—some in pairs, others mingling and chatting. At the far end of the room was a raised platform, about a meter off the ground, accessible by steps on either side. The platform was empty except for a microphone stand. Behind it hung a white screen, draped from the ceiling.

  “This looks like some kind of press conference hall,” Daniel said.

  “Probably where they’ll introduce the park, Jasper. Behave yourself.”

  “When have I ever not?”

  “Almost always.”

  Two female robots with wheels for legs rolled toward them. They had no hair or faces, just two human-like eyes and feminine voices. Both approached at a speed faster than seemed normal for a pedestrian-only space, then slammed on their brakes about a meter away. The drinks on their trays didn’t spill a drop.

  “Please, sir!” one said politely, its large eyes blinking twice.

  One robot turned to Daniel. He reached out and took a soft drink. He wasn’t big on alcohol and wanted to stay sober for whatever show was about to start. Jasper had other ideas. He grabbed a glass of booze, downed it in one gulp, flipped the empty glass back onto the robot’s tray, and picked up another to hold.

  “Bro, you’ll have to drive back,” he said.

  Daniel was used to this. He often ended up driving Jasper’s car when Jasper was too wasted to manage. Today would be no exception.

  “Daniel!”

  A familiar voice called out. He turned and saw a tall woman with a short man beside her. The woman was beautiful and blonde—the secretary from his office. The man was his boss, Mr. Scott. She had her arm linked with his. Daniel wasn’t surprised. He’d expected Scott to bring his wife, but this possibility hadn’t been out of the question either. She gave him the same blank stare she’d had at the office that day.

  “Guess you didn’t change your mind about the invitations. No worries, I’m not mad,” Scott said, his smile greasy and lacking the genuine cheer he tried to project.

  “When my wife called…” Daniel started, rushing to explain.

  “Yeah, you asked her. They can’t help you, Daniel. The ones on the phone were robots. I’m surprised you didn’t figure that out.”

  He hadn’t. It made sense, though. Everything here was run by robots. Why wouldn’t the woman on the phone be one too? She’d mispronounced his name, just like the doctor had. Maybe it was standard for their systems to glitch the same way. If he’d thought of it earlier, he could’ve brought it up with the psychologist.

  “I tried anyway, Mr. Scott.”

  “No big deal. We found invitations. Glad we’ll be seeing each other here. With Miss Wells,” Scott gestured to the blonde, “you know her, right? Yeah.” He answered his own question. “We’re planning to stay here a while. Purely collegial, of course.” Scott winked, while the blonde kept her dumb smile and vacant stare.

  “More than a week? The invitations are for one week.”

  “Sure, sure. But I’ve got money, Daniel. And with money, anything’s possible. You and everyone here today are part of the test phase. I find it odd they’re using handpicked elite from the country’s top tiers for a test run, but maybe it’s a good idea. Did you hear the robots train themselves?”

  “Does this guy ever shut up?” Jasper turned to Daniel but spoke loud enough for Scott to hear.

  “Jasper!” Daniel snapped. “This is my boss.”

  “He’s not my boss. His mouth never stops.”

  “Well, maybe your friend’s got a point,” Scott said, winking again. This wasn’t good. “I do talk a lot sometimes.”

  “Yeah, and if you don’t mind, bro, leave us alone,” Jasper shot back.

  Scott winked a third time, slipped his arm around Miss Wells’ waist, turned, and walked off in the other direction.

  “Why are you like that?” Daniel asked.

  “Was that the guy who wanted your invitations?”

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  “Yeah.”

  “Honest, bro, if you’d given my invite to a guy like that, I’d have strangled you.”

  “He’s my boss.”

  “So what? You’re not his slave. You work, he pays. Isn’t that the deal?”

  Jasper was right about Scott, but he shouldn’t have talked to him like that.

  The lights in the small hall dimmed, and soft music began playing from speakers along the walls. A short, stocky man with black mustaches and a top hat that jutted above his head approached the platform. He leaned on a cane with every other step and waved to someone in the crowd with his free hand. In front of the makeshift stage were several tables without chairs, each fitting seven or eight people, with open space behind them.

  Daniel started toward one of the emptier tables, but Jasper yanked him back by the sleeve.

  “Too many snobs here, bro. That’s not our spot.”

  “But we’re not less than them. You just said—”

  “We’re not, obviously,” Jasper cut him off, “but we don’t act like them either. Stay here.”

  Jasper was rarely serious, and this was one of those moments.

  The short, stocky man on stage was Hugo Barnes. It was Daniel’s first time seeing him in person. His face matched the photos Daniel had seen, though he looked a tad older here—not by much.

  Hugo removed his top hat, and the lights dimmed further. The music stopped. The park’s owner scanned the guests, smiling at some, lingering on others. The silence in the room started to feel slightly awkward. He raised a hand again and adjusted the microphone to his mouth.

  “Welcome, dear guests.”

  Everyone clapped.

  “Welcome to a world that’s new to you,” he began again. “I say ‘to you’ because, for me, this is the world I’ve lived in for over forty years. You could say I’ve interacted with more inanimate beings than living ones in my lifetime. But what’s the difference between the inanimate and the living? Is it emotions? Empathy? The joy of a newborn child or the grief of losing a loved one? Or even love?”

  Hugo Barnes paused. His smile never left his face, though it hid beneath his plump cheeks.

  “I haven’t had the joy of experiencing many of humanity’s strongest emotions—like seeing what it’s like to have a son, or that feeling when your seventeen-year-old daughter brings her boyfriend home to meet you, and he turns out to be, say, a tattooed rocker.”

  Laughter rippled through the room.

  “So yes, friends. All I have is everything around you. And everything around you was created by my hands. If you’ve ever wondered what you’ll leave behind on this Earth—well, it’s memory. But memory fades with time. That’s why my legacy won’t be children.” Hugo paused, scanning the room, beaming at the attention. After a moment, he continued. “It’ll be robots. They’ll remain after me. And perhaps after each of you.”

  Thunderous applause followed, and Hugo kept smiling. The white screen behind him suddenly burst into colorful patterns. A projector above kicked on, flashing a photo of a man dressed like a cowboy, flanked by two beauties hugging him. The image vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a panoramic drone video of the entire park. It was so vast that Daniel couldn’t process everything he saw. Some areas were packed with little houses and figures scurrying like ants—people or maybe robots. Others were littered with construction materials, where modern excavators stood alongside ancient huts.

  While the film played and everyone’s eyes were glued to it, a tall, slender woman climbed the steps to the stage and stood beside Hugo. She wore a headband across her forehead, a thin buttoned blouse, and a long, patterned skirt.

  Hugo didn’t look surprised. He stepped beside her and waited for the crowd’s attention to shift back to him. When the same silence as before settled in, he smiled again.

  “Stu?”

  A young man with reddish hair rushed to him, almost tripping. He wore no black gloves, but his hands moved oddly, like a robot’s. His face resembled the kid from Stuart Little, though this Stu was at least a decade older.

  “This is Amara,” Hugo said, prompting applause. “And today, she’ll show you what she can do.”

  “Stu, please.”

  Stu tapped something on his tablet. Amara’s head suddenly spun. Her movements became fluid. She studied her hands as if seeing them for the first time, raising a palm to her face and rotating it a few times.

  “Hello, Mr. Barnes.”

  “Hello, Amara. Can you introduce yourself to the people?”

  Amara turned to the crowd, and her face flushed red. She stepped back, clasping her hands behind her waist.

  “Don’t be shy, Amara. Be bolder.”

  The crowd clapped again. Daniel glanced at Jasper, who couldn’t take his eyes off the stage, laughing like a kid.

  “Hello, I’m Amara,” she said, then turned back to Hugo. “But they’ve already seen others like me. Even here in the room, there are some. Why do I have to introduce myself?”

  A few people chuckled.

  “Shh, Amara,” Hugo said, acting like he was on a stand-up comedy stage rather than unveiling a park. “Some of our guests haven’t yet realized that everyone they’ve met here was a robot.”

  “Except the psychologist,” Daniel thought.

  Many in the crowd were just now catching on—it showed in their faces. He and Jasper probably wouldn’t have either if Vince hadn’t tipped them off. Daniel had looked for Vince a few times since but hadn’t spotted him. All the robots were eerily convincing. Even Amara. She acted so human, with no hint of the machinery inside her.

  “All I ask is that you treat them like people,” Hugo said, addressing the guests. “Don’t forget—they learn from you. How you act toward them is how they’ll respond. Every one of them is undoubtedly smarter than you, but their minds are blank slates, their functions utterly basic. Meet a cowboy, and he can hit the fastest bird in the park with one bullet, but he won’t know how to charm a lady. Give him a chance, though, and midway through a chat with one of you ladies, he’ll be the most gallant gentleman you’ve met. Unless he’s already met one of you gentlemen and joined your murder posse—then he might not be so polite.” Hugo spoke with such passion that no one dared interrupt. “That’s why the test invitations didn’t go to ordinary people but to some of the most qualified we could find. I want the robots to absorb the best from you, good or bad. When the park opens and the first guests arrive, they’ll see your reflections in their eyes. These aren’t just my children. They’ll be yours too.”

  Hugo stopped, and after a brief silence, the applause erupted again. He bowed, and shy Amara followed suit. Her face showed genuine human expressions—real confusion, like anyone would feel up there.

  “Live the history,” Hugo said as his final words.

  The rest of the ceremony was mundane—mostly guest chatter and eating.

  Halfway through, Jasper and Daniel left.

  On the way back, Daniel drove while Jasper wouldn’t shut up about the park.