Bai E's expression remained unchanged, as if he were simply recalling, "He said... that I should cooperate fully with your research."
"Is that all?" Helen knew her own reputation and found it hard to believe that was everything.
"There's also the fact that you've dissected many of my counterparts..."
"Afraid?"
"Afraid... very afraid."
"Why?"
"To be dissected is to die."
Helen's eyebrows lifted slightly, her gaze fixed intently on the instrument display, "Are you afraid of death?"
"I'm afraid of dying in a place like this."
"Why?"
"The commander said that our lives do not belong to us, and that we have no right to waste them carelessly. They should be used for more meaningful and wider purposes, we are the city's sharp sword, cutting down all threats."
Emotions can misconstrue commands; the same order can lead to different actions when carried out by different artificial humans.