[Paul does imagine it, at her prompting. It slots neatly alongside questions he's already asked himself about just that, although she can't know that. Not even Teacher knows that, even if Paul thinks he has enough pieces to suspect.

The look on his face must be something to see, a slip of control over a bloom of empathy that he should stop short, only does a little too late.]

I've never thought about it that way.

[He says, quietly, his gaze flickering back to her and then away in uncustomary skittishness. The back of his neck feels tight and uncomfortable.

He's never thought about it that was because there is no debate, where he comes from. The question of whether or not AI should exist has been settled, and the answer is 'no'. But that's exactly the kind of debate Anna is telling him she wants no part of being in, and this time, sensitivity beats out orthodoxy.]

I suppose that's the human way, isn't it? Being afraid of anything that's greater than ourselves. We want to control it, shape it, and if we can't...

[A slight, lopsided shrug, paired with a joyless quirk on one side of his mouth. She knows what follows that ellipses.]

This isn't good conversation. I apologize. I may have had one too many of - a few things, now that I think about it.