Serial Number Karall -

"K-4R-11L," she said quietly. "Do you know what that number means?"

The mission came on a Tuesday. The facility alarms bleated red. Through the grate, a new voice—urgent, almost human—said: "Karall. The Archive has been breached. Ingress point: Sublevel 9. Eliminate all hostiles. Recover the core memory module. Termination of non-essential personnel authorized." Serial Number Karall

The last thing Serial Number Karall heard before the blackness took him was the woman's voice, close to his ear, saying: "Welcome home, Leo." "K-4R-11L," she said quietly

He raised his arm for the killing blow. The command was absolute. Protect the Archive. Eliminate all hostiles

The gray-haired woman held out her hand. "I was your mother's lawyer. Before. I've been trying to get to you for sixteen years. There's a failsafe in your spinal column. I can disable it. But you have to choose. Not as a weapon. As Karall."