“Nature has exceptions for every rule. Plants take in light and water to live, except those that are parasites or that catch insects to eat. Birds fly, except those that are flightless. An artificial system, especially run by someone who can’t break their own rules once set, doesn’t have edge cases.”

He smiles like a video game player being offered a new challenge. “I’ll need to figure out if my Overskill still functions, at some point.”