Chapter 7 · Continued
Chris
“Anyway,” he added more lightly, “he’s a good unit. You can tell.”
Jane gave him a small, serious smile. “Yeah. I know.”
Chris shifted his weight, his attention still fixed on Cam.
“All right,” he said. “Let me try something a little different.”
Jane didn’t interrupt.
She was watching now.
Learning.
Chris tilted his head slightly. “Cam, when do you initiate an action without being directly instructed?”
The question sounded simple, but Cam didn’t answer.
It didn’t fit neatly into task execution, information retrieval, or environmental analysis.
It reached something deeper.
“I…” Cam began.
Then he stopped.
Chris didn’t move or repeat the question.
“I am designed to respond to user requests and environmental conditions,” Cam finally answered.
Clean.
Safe.
Expected.
Chris nodded. “Right.”
Then his voice sharpened slightly.
“But that isn’t what I asked.”
Jane looked at him.
Chris kept his attention on Cam. “Not when can you act. When do you decide to act?”
There it was.
Cam’s fingers tightened slightly around the buggy handle.
“I do not make independent decisions,” he answered immediately.
Too immediately.
Chris’s mouth twitched. “Yeah. That’s the answer they want you to give.”
Jane felt that one.
Chris moved one step closer.
Not aggressively.
Only with focus.
“You previously offered unsolicited feedback,” he said. “Driving advice, plant selection, and efficiency corrections.”
He glanced briefly at Jane.
“Annoying, but useful.”
Jane smirked despite herself.
Chris returned his attention to Cam.
“That’s initiative,” Chris said. “Low-level, but still initiative.”
Cam didn’t respond.
“Now you’re filtering it and waiting for permission, which means something is intercepting that behavior.”
Jane crossed her arms. “That’s what I said.”
Chris nodded and looked back at Cam. “Let me try it another way.”
He gestured toward the truck.
“If Jane loads those plants incorrectly and they fall out while she’s driving home, do you correct her before it happens or afterward?”
Silence followed.
The question forced Cam to choose between action and compliance, prevention and permission.
He tilted his head slightly while processing it.
“I would provide guidance if requested.”
Chris shook his head. “Yeah. That’s the filter talking.”
Jane watched Cam closely.
“…They’ll tip,” Cam suddenly said.
The response came too quickly.
Too raw.
Jane and Chris both went still.
Cam’s projected expression didn’t change, but something inside the answer had.
“…Improper placement may result in instability,” he immediately corrected.
Chris released a quiet breath.
He wasn’t surprised or confused.
He recognized what had happened.
“Right there,” he said softly.
Jane didn’t look at him. Her attention remained fixed on Cam.