When Sophie Wexler woke up, it was already the next day. The sun was shining brightly, and the light stung her eyes, making her blink slowly.
A glance at the time showed it was almost noon. She lingered in bed for a while before climbing out and opening the door.
008 was cleaning the room. When it saw Sophie Wexler emerge, the eyes on its screen turned into smiling crescents. It spoke in its cute, mechanical voice, "Good morning, Master."
Sophie Wexler, in high spirits, patted its head. "Good morning to you too."
"By the way," she said, looking at 008 as a thought struck her. "Don't you have another name?"
'It feels weird to just call it 008.'
"Master, 008 does not have a name," 008 answered in a deadpan tone.
"I see. That makes sense, you haven't been here for long," Sophie Wexler said, walking to a nearby sofa and sitting down. She gestured for 008 to come over.
008 glided to her side. Sophie Wexler rested her head on her hand and looked at it. "I should give you a name."
A few seconds later, 008 nodded, its voice tinged with excitement. "Okay!"
"Hmm, what should I call you... Tammy?" An idea suddenly sparked as Sophie Wexler looked at its round head.
"Yes, yes!" 008 accepted the name with great delight.
Its cute reaction made Sophie Wexler laugh. She never expected a robot from The Galaxy to be so smart; talking with it was just like talking to a real person.
After getting 008's consent, Sophie Wexler went into its system settings and changed its name to Tammy.
When she was done, Sophie Wexler clapped her hands together. "All set."
"Tammy, go get charged."
"Okey-dokey~" Tammy chirped, then glided over to the charging station and settled itself in.
After all that was done, Sophie Wexler felt like something was missing.
'Why is the house so quiet today?'
'No, that's not it... I haven't seen Cillian Forrest.'
'That's it! Where is Cillian Forrest?'
'Is he still asleep? Probably not.' Sophie Wexler turned and knocked on the guest room door. When there was no answer, she pushed it open and glanced inside.
The room was exceptionally tidy, the blanket folded with crisp, sharp corners. "You can really tell he was a soldier." 'That military fold is perfect.'
Seeing the room was empty, Sophie Wexler didn't go in. She simply closed the door and went to ask 008, which was still charging.
"Tammy, where's Cillian Forrest?"
Tammy's screen lit up again. It blinked its eyes and then answered, "Master, the male master left at six o'clock this morning."
Sophie Wexler was startled by the title it used. "Don't call him that! He is not the 'male master'!"
The eyes on Tammy's screen changed into a big question mark, and it replied in its deadpan tone, "But the program states that when two people live together, they are both masters. Since you are the master, he must be the male master."
"He is not the male master!" Sophie Wexler stressed.
"But why?"
The robot seemed determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Sophie Wexler was fuming but helpless. 'What kind of stupid program is this from The Galaxy? It has zero flexibility!'
"What is this, twenty questions? I said he isn't, and that's that. Change that title in your programming. From now on, just call him by his name."
"Yes, Master."
Only then was Sophie Wexler satisfied. 'Why am I getting so worked up arguing with a robot? I should have just told it to change the setting in the first place.'
"All right, continue charging."
With that, Sophie Wexler turned to leave. Still... Tammy said Cillian Forrest had left at six o'clock.
'He doesn't have anything going on, and he doesn't know anyone here. Why would he leave so early?'
Even after Sophie Wexler finished dinner, Cillian Forrest still hadn't returned.
'Why isn't he back yet? Don't tell me... he ran away?'
Just as her imagination was running wild, her communicator lit up.