Your point is Mute!

You make it back to base camp and find Mute sitting on a black stool. He’s somewhere else entirely, in his head, writing down furiously. Also, he’s shirtless!?

“Ow!” You yelp, pinching your arm. Nope, not dreaming. Just act cool. “I see you’re shirtless, that’s cool. I like being shirtless too. Uh, only when you’re shirtless though. I mean – you don’t have to be shirtless while I’m shirtless – I can be shirtless on my own perfectly fine. Sometimes I don’t even wear pants! Ha! Ha… Hi!”

Mute looks up from his notepad, “Oh, hey. Sorry, I was kinda focusing on this. When did you make it back?”

“Just now,” you say, scooting closer. “So, what’s this?” Gesturing the chair.

Mute looks himself over, mistakenly thinking you were referring to his lack of shirt. “I was on fire,” he says calmly.

“You’re always on fire, yeeeaah” You grin, nodding, all while winking with both eyes, slightly out of sync.

Blushing, Mute says, “What! No! The stool lit on fire and I had to put it out with my shirt!”

“I’ve heard of worse excuses,” you tease, “I’m sure your stool enjoyed it.” For some reason this weird in-joke never gets old. Jorrel would probably point out the complexities of man and the breath and depth of our endless pursuit of the sensual experience. Yes, true, but friendly teasing is also fun.

Restraining himself to not throw his notepad across the room, Mute slowly says, “Shiv, listen to me, ‘my stool’ lit me on fire.”

“Not a fan myself, but, like, I’ve heard of worse fetishes,” Emalie gives her classic full-face wink with a loud click of the mouth.

“I’ve got something brown for you, Muty-boy!” Jorrel drops the last sack of coffee on the floor. The room goes silent.

Emalie breaks the silence, “Puppy, that’s… no.”

“Too much?”

“No,” Mute says, “Too hard.”

Biting your lip, you try your hardest not imply that someone’s mom might have said that. Read the room, Shiv, you think. Joke is dead.

“But, really, guys, this thing legit set me on fire.”

You take a couple of steps over to Mute and inspect him closely. He shies away slightly as you invade his personal space.

“No burn marks.” You state with finality, “If it actually had lit you on fire there would be burn marks.” Suddenly, you realize how close your face is to Mute’s chest, how your hands had been all over him in your search for damage, and you take a step back. You’re not quite sure what startled you the most; How close you were or the fact that you feel the same when inspecting PR073-C70R.

Mute breathes a sigh of relief. Or disappointment. Either one.

“Must have been hallucinatory,” Emalie looks to you as she says this.

“Maybe…” You end that line of thought with a shrug. “No way to know.”

“Unless we turn it on,” Jorrel is leaning over the stool now, Mute standing next to him and you next to Mute. Emalie completes the circle.

The stool is solid black. Three legs. Round seat that extends quite a bit, giving the impression of a marshmallow made of ink. There are receptacles on the sides, only one of which seems to still have its component intact, the others hollow – not even showing signs of anything being there to begin with. Several LED displays line the rim of the seat.

"Boot 100% awaiting activation phrase." Jorrels reads out loud. He thinks for a while and then says, "Same as with Robbington,"

"Think the same phrase works?" Mute asks.

The group stands in silence for a while, collectively handing the stool a staring beatdown.

"Way I see it," Jorrel continues, "We can turn it on here or bring it back to Shiv's workshop and turn it on there." Jorrel looks to the group. A little more at Mute than the rest of you.

You say, "It might only work here. Some bots are bound to the building we've found them. So, it's always a gamble. On the other hand, I got all tools and restraints there."

"Right," Emalie acknowledges, "Since it's a fire-starter, it might try to violently **** us when we turn it on. But it might be better taking it on here, rather than not at all."

Jorrel thinks, brow furrowing, intensely staring into nothing. "I need to talk out loud for a moment, stay with me."