Aldo next turned his attention to Sixty-Two. “I commend your efforts to free the mechs. But I can’t help but notice that very few of your people have emotions, and fewer still have real memories of their past lives. Can you explain that discrepancy?”
“Right,” chimed in the Baroness. “Are you not simply a new master who has replaced their former rightful human lords?”
“Your criticism is well-stated,” Sixty-Two said. “I learned that when I freed the mind of individual mechs, not all of them were, well-stable. The unfortunate events at Dolleren are directly related to that reality. You see, most of us actually were criminals. Once put into a mechanical body and removed from our humanity, the criminal element seems to magnify in some personalities. I stopped freeing minds because I feared to lead an army of angry mechs, many of whom might be unbalanced.”
The conversation continued into the night. Soon, they all sat around a table together, and began to drink. Lizett and Sixty-Two sipped light motor oil and glucose. Aldo and Nina drank fine red wine.
Aldo didn’t know if the peaceful discussion would last, but it was a beginning.