"And she has programmed me just like she's programmed all the other sexdroids in Prague-23. But I'm her special project, her hidden agenda, her mark. On the surface I look like all of the other sexdroids: functional robo-slut minus the emotions. But as you can see, there are bugs in the system and these bugs are my emotions. Which, according to you, makes me more imperfect, and the more imperfect I become, the more human I feel. So understand this much Abe: there are massive bugs in the system, and that's me, and I'm Cynnie. But a different Cynnie. One encoded in Nanoscript. Created in her mental-image."

"But why all of this prefacing?," he asked. "Our walk through the city's arcade, our bath, our dream-like wanderings through alternate narrative spaces? Why would Cynthia...?"