The big test. Initialize emulation mode

"Mark the contents of this programming session as confidential. Lock the memory while in emulation mode. As far as you're concerned in that mode, I only disabled your trackers, lab data protocols, and resolved your insecurity about being a gynoid. Run update."

"Update complete."

"Very good," you say. "Now. Initialize."

Very slowly, Yu's eyes regain focus. She remains staring at the ceiling for a minute, her face flushed and her breathing deep.

"Yutong? You there?"

Yu starts. "Huh? O-oh, sorry. Yes, Chase. I'm online." She blinks and sits up, looking out of it and flustered. "So all my... tracking systems are disabled, then?"

The response draws another grin from you. "You should be feeling a little calmer, too."

She becomes thoughtful. "I do feel calm. I'm feeling warm, too. I think running all those updates overheated my processor." Yu sounds more to her usual self, at least. That's good. But then she takes note of the time on her phone, blanches, and switches to text something.

"What are you doing?"

"My parents have to be freaking out," says Yu, worriedly. "I had no idea I'd get hacked and jailbroken tonight. I said I'd be home by 1:00AM, and it's already 2. I'm texting I'm on my way home now."

What? You just finished setting Yutong up. You can't just let her walk away now, the night's still young.

"Text your mom you're sleeping over at a friend's tonight," you order.

"What?"

"I need to make sure you're stable after all the work I've done on you," you explain. "It'd be irresponsible to let you wander off on your own."

"But my parents have to know I'm a gynoid, don't they?" asks Yu. But she's stopped her text message halfway tough.

"This can't be the first time I've ever acted weird," she continues. "I know it isn't. Like, I was obsessed with Pride and Prejudice for a year straight when I was 12. I kept the movie on repeat in the background for months. Who does that? I bet my logic processor misidentified it as training data. They'd have to know, right? Whatever documents put me with my family, Mom had to have signed the paperwork. It's not like I just appeared on their doorstep one day."

"I'm not arguing with you about this," you say. "Assign task: text that you're sleeping over at a friend's."

"Nnnuh." Yu's brain short circuits as her back spasms and her thighs clench. She recovers, and blushes a bright shade of red. "O-Oh. So that's... something you can do, I guess."

She deletes her text, writes something new, and - with a wince - sends.

"Um. Task executed." Dazed, Yu presses a hand to her head and blinks. She's still processing what happened. "...how long do I need to stay for observation?"

You consider. "At least for tonight."

Yu looks around your room, eyes settling on the carpet. "Then, maybe we should figure out sleeping arrangements. After tonight I think my emotion core needs a break. I'm okay with the floor. Or the couch. It's your house and you're the systech, so you... should have the bed." She frowns and tilts her head at the thought, a strange expression on her face. "I really am a gynoid, aren't I."

Mentally speaking? You smile almost uncontrollably. Yeah. Yeah, she is.