Madison is helpful.

"I could tell something was off with Madison as soon as I saw her in the diner," Erica explained to the stunned young men. "Maybe it's some kind of golem intuition or maybe I'm just more perceptive than either of you. In any case, I tried to warn Ross."

"You did?" Andrew asked angrily. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"Honestly?" Erica replied. "He's a lot smarter than you. Still, he didn't seem to care, so I took it upon myself to remedy the situation. I spoke to Madison privately and was able to get the broad strokes of what happened. Did he give you a new script or just flash a modifier?"

"He flashed a couple of modifiers," Madison told her.

"Makes sense. A guy like Chambers probably has a prized collection of clever modifier scripts he's written over the years. Anyway, I deduced that he probably just tweaked Madison to prioritize his well-being over everything else."

"How the hell did you figure that out?" Andrew asked.

"He's a lot more subtle than you two. He knew that wouldn't lead to any noticeable personality changes, since drawing suspicion wouldn't be good for him. He just wanted to ensure that when push came to shove, Madison would take his side."

"Yep," Madison said. "Nothing is more important."

Ross looked nauseated, but the professor continued. "Once I figured that out, I had some thinking to do. I knew he would put a lock on her to prevent further modification, just like we both had before you circumvented it with the release tablet. I had to work within the conditions given, and I knew that the first thing he would do was deactivate me, so the plan needed to work without my active involvement."

"So how did you get her to turn on him?" Andrew asked.

"She didn't!" Madison said. "I'm still completely committed to Dr. Chambers' well-being above all."

"That's right," Erica said. "You see, in all of his cleverness Cecil forgot something very important. He was arrogant, accustomed to thinking of himself as a genius and everyone else as his pawns. Most importantly, he thought of golems as mere playthings to be manipulated and dissected."

"So?"

"So we're not," Madison said simply. "We're no less valuable than a real person."

"But we're a lot more durable," Erica pointed out. "To us, a human becoming a golem is a value-neutral proposition. We don't prize humanity like you do. But I reminded Madison that in terms of physical security..."

"Golems are superior," Ross finished. "So if Dr. Chambers becomes a golem, he loses nothing and gains a great deal of physical security."

"It's a no-brainer," Madison said. "When she told me about the conversion ring I understood what I had to do. I knew Dr. Chambers wouldn't want it, so I had to wait till he was distracted to slip it on."

"I couldn't risk her being caught with it so I carried it with me, intending to transfer it to her tonight," Erica said. "Unfortunately, I was deactivated before I got the chance. Apparently she took it from my pocket when I was out of commission."

"Then it was simply a matter of letting Cecil gloat until he lost track of me. I popped it onto his finger, and you know the rest."

Andrew and Ross sat in silence for several minutes, processing this strange story. Finally Andrew spoke.

"Why?" he croaked. "You're not my **** or anything. You're only programmed to be my fuckbuddy. Why do all this to save me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Erica asked with a bemused smile. "I like you, Andrew."

"But you don't have real feelings!"

She gave him a mock pout. "If I did, that would have hurt them. It's true that this sexy mound of dirt doesn't have actual emotions, but Professor Levinson is a full emulation of a human being who grows and changes and feels. That emulation has grown quite fond of you two and thought Dr. Chambers was a dick. The choice was easy."

She turned to address Ross. "That's why I hope you can forgive dear Madison. I know she betrayed you but that was a modification. The underlying emulation still loves you in its own abstract way. Please, Ross. If not for her, then for yourself; if not for yourself, then for this strange ersatz dirt person who just saved you- please forgive her."