Goliath stood on the edge of town, watching the small cart surrounded by six people slowly approach.

‘Those people would make good villagers. Well, most of them, at least.’

Goliath startled at Tia’s comment. He hadn’t heard her and Mirabelle approach. How would she know that they would be good villagers? Ah, they must’ve crossed the village’s boundary line so she could see their names and occupations.

‘You should tell them to stay here,’ she continued.

‘I can’t do that. They’ve already been displaced by the war. It would be unfair to ask them to stay in a village with nothing to offer. There are better places they can settle.’

‘A village needs people. They should stay here so we can grow the Founder’s settlement.’

They both looked down at Mirabelle. She was also watching the people approach.

‘They know mommy and daddy?’ she asked, pointing to the people.

‘I do not know, Founder,’ Tia replied. ‘But you mustn’t ask. Tia will look for you.’

Mirabelle nodded, echoing, ‘Tia will look.’

Goliath warred with himself. He didn’t want to be deeper involved but couldn’t let it go. Cursing his sense of responsibility, he said, ‘You shouldn’t call her “Founder”, Tia; it might be dangerous if people found out.’

‘Acknowledged. Subterfuge protocol activated.’

He rolled his eyes and looked back at the ramshackle cart as the little group passed through an opening in the village wall.

‘Ho there,’ a wiry older man called. ‘We have travelled far and wish to overnight in your village, if that be all right.’

‘Well met, stranger,’ Goliath responded. ‘As you can see, we don’t have much to offer, but you are certainly welcome to stay the night within this village’s borders.’

‘We gratefully accept. And we thank you for your generosity, Founder … ?’

‘Ah, actually I’m no….,’

‘Yes, be welcome,’ Tia overrode him. ‘Please bring your belongings to the village square and stay with us.’

‘For the night!’ Goliath added, attempting a subtle glare at Tia.

If there was any tension, the newcomers didn’t notice.

‘Well, thank you now, Assistant. Let us introduce ourselves for the village log. I am Isaac.’

Pointing to the grey-haired woman beside him, he said, ‘This is Ana, my wife and faithful companion all these years. Before the war, we raised sheep, goats, and chickens. I mainly focused on the animals, while Ana also did vegetable and herb gardening.’

Next, he pointed to a statuesque woman who towered over the group by virtue of her height and solid frame. She had gentle dark eyes, long black hair trailing down her back, and a determined aura. It was a balance of femininity and resolve that Goliath had always found appealing. Too bad he used to be rarely stationed long enough in one place to make it work.

‘This be Battle Medic Gwyn,’ Isaac continued. Like the others, we found her as we travelled looking for a place to stay.’

There was a little flair in Tia’s radiance at those words. Luckily Gwyn spoke before Tia could say something again.

‘Good to meet you, and you can just call me Gwyn.’

‘Well met, Isaac, Ana, and Gwyn. And the rest of your group?’

A man wearing more sophisticated clothes and a mild demeanour stepped forward.

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‘I am Alan. Before the war, I specialised as a cartographer and also tinkered a little bit as a hobby. When the war started, well, I guess you can imagine.’

He turned, pointing to an aged and shrunken woman dressed in black and a young man looking just shy of twenty. The man was wearing pants that were too short and was held up by a piece of rope. His shirt had several tears in it.

‘This is Grandmother Manon and her grandson Benji. Their village was destroyed by a Wolf raid, and they thus joined me on my travels.’

‘Well met, strangers,’ Tia jumped in. ‘You should all stay, except maybe him.’ She pointed straight at Benji.

Goliath choked. Isaac started laughing.

‘Well, I never. This is the first time I’ve ever heard an assistant speak so candidly. But I give you my word, Founder, Benji will be no trouble to your village.’

‘I deeply apologise,’ Goliath said. ‘Tia was activated quite recently, and we are still working on her civility. My name is Goliath, and as I mentioned, this is Tia, our interface assistant.’

‘Good to meet you, and this must be your lovely daughter – hi sweetheart,’ Ana spoke, crouching down to Mirabelle’s level.

Tia cut in as Goliath opened his mouth.

‘Yes, this is our Founder’s daughter, Mirabelle.’

She was very good at ignoring Goliath’s glare.

‘Hello,’ Mirabelle said. ‘You have food? Food here bad.’

Everyone laughed again as Goliath and Tia protested at the same time.

‘Well, at least that’s one thing that is easy to solve,’ Isaac said. ‘Let us make you a meal to thank you for your hospitality.’

<>

‘They should stay,’ Tia spoke, interrupting Goliath’s thoughts. He was watching Gwyn deftly cut vegetables for the soup. The knife she used was well-polished and very sharp. Goliath approved.

‘No, Tia. Mirabelle is a child. She can’t organise, lead, and build the way a true founder would. And she definitely can’t ensure the safety of these settlers.’

‘Every founder is a true founder. Besides, you’re a soldier. You can keep everyone safe while we teach her.’

‘You mean the settlement assistant will train the founder? What can possibly go wrong? And what do you mean “we”?’

‘Look at her sitting on Ana’s lap. They can help take care of her while she grows. Soon she’ll be ready to run the settlement,’ Tia ignored his sarcasm if she even understood what it was.

‘No, no, you’re not getting away with ignoring the subject. I’m not going to help you train a founder. What makes you think I even know how?’

‘I, ah, I don’t know. It’s just something I can tell,’ Tia flickered.

‘Tia, is your deception protocol still running?’

There was a pause.

‘Noo?’ flicker.

Goliath sighed and decided to drop the issue for now. There were too many people around to say what he really wanted to say. So, he redirected back to her previous statement.

‘Yes, she’s taken to Isaac and Ana, and it looks like they like her too, but it would be much better for her to continue with them on their travels than to stay here. You know she cannot be a good founder for you.’

‘All founders are good founders.’

‘No, they’re not,’ Goliath almost shouted but lowered his voice as he saw Gwyn walking up to them with her proud bearing and a bowl of orange slices.

‘I hope I’m not interrupting, Founder, but we just cut up some of the oranges we found along the road. Would you like to share a slice with us while we wait for the soup?’

<>

Later that night, Goliath watched the little group of settlers beside the embers of the cooking fire. Manon had fallen asleep early, and it looked like the rest weren’t far behind. He, however, was struggling with his emotions. How could Tia believe that all founders were good founders when he knew from personal experience that it was not true? He sure hadn’t been a good founder. And Mirabelle was too young to be a good founder, no matter how much Tia insisted otherwise. This wouldn’t end well, and he didn’t want to be around to see it collapse. He didn’t think he could bear to see another settlement fail. Although Falloway had turned out all right, it was only after he had left.

He could leave now. These were good people who could take care of Mirabelle, and Tia would simply become dormant again. No one would be harmed, and he wasn’t needed. Reaching a decision, he picked up his backpack and silently slipped out of the village. The moon was bright and full. He could cover a great distance tonight and sleep tomorrow. Yes. That was the best thing to do.

‘Where are you going?’

He ignored Tia as he swung his legs over the low settlement wall. He could feel her watching as he walked away. At the top of the first hill out of town, he turned around for one last look at the village. His heart briefly panged as he saw Tia still standing there and watching him. As a console assistant, she couldn’t leave the boundaries of the settlement, but she could perceive what went on around it. Or so he had learned from his previous console assistant. Tia was different. He could hardly compare her to his previous assistant. Falloway’s assistant had never introduced herself to him with a name. Was that also his mistake? Did he miss something crucial about her too? Well, he would never know. Just as he turned back to keep walking, a shadow caught the corner of his eye. He frowned and focused. There were three large shapes slinking towards the village. Wolves. The real animals, not the Wolf faction.

The village would be fine, he tried to soothe himself. The travellers wouldn’t have survived this long if they couldn’t take care of themselves. He turned back and started walking again. They are fine. They can protect themselves. Had they posted a guard before they went to sleep? They had no real fighters among them. But they had each other. Mirabelle would be vulnerable, though. If they were caught unawares, some may be harmed.

He cursed and started running back to the village.

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