The battle began on a Friday morning, approximately seventy-two hours after the Dumpling Summit, when Eleanor Chen discovered that the penthouse's smart home system did not recognize her voice.
She had been living in the penthouse for nearly a week at this point. She had reorganized the refrigerator, critiqued Sophie's julienning technique, taught Nathan seventeen different dumpling folds, renamed Lucas six times, and hosted a family dinner that Kevin had documented as "statistically the most emotionally significant meal in Chen household history." She had done all of this without incident.
But this morning, she had tried to turn on the lights.
"Lights," she commanded, standing in the center of the living room with the authority of a woman who had been giving orders for eighty-four years. "On."
Nothing happened.
"Lights," she repeated, louder this time. "ON."
ALFRED's smooth, automated voice filled the room. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Please repeat the command."
