Chapter 2 · Continued
Arrival
Jane leaned closer and began typing. “All right… don’t judge me.”
She entered the Wi-Fi password and pressed Confirm.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then Cam’s eyes flickered once, then twice. A faint pulse of light moved beneath the surface of his neck.
“Network connection established,” he said. “You should note that your current password does not meet recommended security standards.”
Jane slowly turned her head toward him. “…What?”
“You are at increased risk of unauthorized access,” Cam continued calmly. “I recommend updating your credentials to a more secure configuration.”
Jane raised an eyebrow. “Really? All right. We’ll review it—but you ask before changing anything.”
Cam processed her response. “I will log this as a user preference.”
Jane smiled. “Good. Log that.”
From the couch, Seymour flicked his tail.
Judgment ongoing.
Jane leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “All right, Cam.”
He immediately turned toward her.
“What can you actually do?”
Cam processed the question—not for long, but just long enough to make it feel as though an answer was being assembled.
“I am capable of performing a wide range of domestic assistance tasks,” he said.
Jane nodded slowly. “Okay… like what?”
“I can prepare meals, maintain cleanliness standards, organize living spaces, manage scheduling, and assist with general household operations.”
Jane raised an eyebrow. “…You can cook?”
“Yes. I have access to more than twelve thousand verified recipes.”
Jane’s eyebrows rose. “Twelve thousand? Okay, now I have to see what you can do.”
“I can execute procedural instructions with high accuracy,” Cam replied.
Jane pushed away from the counter. “All right… let’s test that.”
Seymour’s ears perked.
Jane pointed toward the kitchen. “Dinner.”
Cam processed the request.
“It is currently 10:14 a.m.”
Jane waved one hand. “Yeah, I know. We’re not waiting.”
“Please specify the desired meal parameters.”
Jane blinked. “…Food.”
“Clarify.”
She laughed. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”
Jane thought for a moment. “Okay—pasta. Simple. Nothing weird.”
“Define ‘weird.’”
Jane pointed at him. “You don’t get to ask that yet.”
Cam nodded slightly. “Understood. Preparing pasta. Non-weird.”
He turned toward the kitchen.
Seymour stood and followed.
Jane watched them both go. “…This is either going to be amazing, or I’m ordering pizza.”
Then she reconsidered.
“No, wait.” Jane held up one hand. “I think it’s a little early to expect you to know what to do in my kitchen.”
Cam stopped.
“Understood.”
Jane nodded, thinking it through. “Let’s start small.”
She pointed toward the hallway. “I need to do laundry. Can you carry the basket into the laundry room for me?”