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And Evan would give him that tender smile and squeeze his hand, which was even better.

“The testing isn’t hard, by what I’ve heard. Two qualified psychologists, one human and one spark, ask you some questions and you answer them however you choose. They look for the seven E’s—emotions, existential questions, ethics, explanations, and… I’m forgetting some.”

“Experiences, engagement, and empathy,” Quincy filled in.

Evan gave him another squeeze. “You don’t need me to tell you this.”

“No, it’s better when you explain it.” He understood now why sparks went to college and did internships—there was so much more to understand than just the information.

“At any rate, that’s what you need to demonstrate, but you’ll do that easily—you do every time we talk. There’s nothing to study or prepare. Then the psychologists are the ones who actually get you registered, since you’ll have already paid the fee and submitted the paperwork.”

Quincy’s pistons cycled up again, but he told them to slow. He didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t prepare. It sounded intimidating. What if the psychologists didn’t like him? Or didn’t believe him? Would they be out to trick him? But he’d have to trust Evan on this one.

Evan turned in his seat to fully face him. “The difficult part is actually getting out of your contract with your employer. Have you looked that up yet?”

Quincy shook his head. Evan had encouraged him to think about what other jobs he’d enjoy, and he’d been looking everywhere, but nothing drew him yet. He hadn’t even considered his current job beyond going to work each day so he didn’t get in trouble.

“So…” Evan blew out a breath. “You have a fifty-year warranty. And you’ve been working for the city for how long?”

“Twenty-six years, ten months, and sixteen days.”

Evan whistled, shaking his head. “Crazy. You know, I’m only twenty-eight.”

“So that means we’re almost the same age!” Quincy put in. He liked that. One more thing they had in common.

“Yeah, but I was a kid for a lot of it. And you’ve been stuck in a repetitive job with insufficient memory and no rights for decades. Quincy, it breaks my heart thinking of it.”

“But I have more memory now. You and Ben have changed everything.” Quincy leaned in closer. He hoped Evan could understand how important that was to him.

Evan nodded. “I hope so. At any rate, right now, you’re the property of the city. When you get registered as a spark, you’re a free being… but with the current state laws, you owe your employer the value of the part of your purchase that covers the next twenty-three-ish years.”

All of Quincy’s processes jumped.

Input required.

Search parameters for purchase price: CNS model 84

Twenty-three years times…

Infinite Loop. Exit, yes-no?

Savings recommendations for retirement. For buy-out. For…

Input required.

Interest. Inflation. Depreciation.

Exit, yes-no?

Memory error.

Somewhere in the background, his legs were moving, but he hadn’t given them any commands. His appendages were trapped against his back, and they wanted out.

He heard a voice, but it sounded muffled. “Hey, Q. We’ve got this. It’s alright.”

That was Evan.

So was the hand that rested on his jerking leg. Quincy had coiled his two hoses around Evan’s other arm.