That comes as no surprise. Connie nods knowingly and in agreement. Though some (her contact) may have seen the torture of a living, but artificial, mind as incidental to the protocol violations, she'd never been able to shake the sense of obligation she held towards the Alpha and the other AI, too.

It's why the dog tags were placed there in the first place, after all. Not just because she believed she could trust Texas, a belief now proved true, but because Texas deserved to know the truth.

"They only recently split off another fragment. North is due to receive it— him after the assault on the scrapyard finally goes ahead. Alpha is..." She pauses to consider her words. "I don't know what state we might find him in, whenever that may be."