"Thank you again for letting me talk with you," I tell Makuth for perhaps the fifth time today. She just looks like a regular Shaula—green skin, black hair, scales. From her appearance, I never would have guessed anything about her dangerous and controversial past.

She shrugs. "Since I retired from my job with the Shaula government, none of this information is classified anymore. But it's not something you should be sharing publicly."

"I won't," I promise. She knows the rules of the contract.

Makuth leans back in her chair, shutting her eyes as if recalling something in the distant past. "So. Parse. She was... an interesting target."

"She?" I interrupt. "Parse doesn't have a gender."

"I know. In my language, we use 'she' as the gender-neutral pronoun."

I'm about to point out that we aren't even speaking Shaula, but decide to let it go. Makuth continues.

"It wasn't an easy mission. AIs are notoriously hard to kill."

"Why did your superiors want you to kill Parse?"

"Well, you know all about Parse. She's a danger to society."

Makuth looks at me as if expecting me to agree. Just to satisfy her, I nod slightly. "I'm very interested to hear your story. You have... a unique perspective on Parse."

"I suppose I do."

*

I heard about my mission from the Shaula military commander at the time, Lesath. It was simple: seek out and destroy the AI that calls itself Parse. Of course, the Shaula military is very different now from what it was twenty years ago. For one, there are no more elite assassins, like I was. I have to say that I'm glad about that.

I had ten days to do it: more time than I usually got on missions like this. That was the first clue that this wasn't going to be like other assassinations I'd carried out. I also got very little information on the target herself. I learned later that this was because the Shaula didn't actually know all that much about Parse.

The first objective was to track her down. At first, I'll admit, I had no idea how to do that. Since Parse could potentially take the body of any living being or robot, I couldn't use my regular methods of locating targets. Fortunately, the data we had on her provided an answer: nanobots.

Okay, I'm going to have to get technical for a second. I hope you don't mind.

When Parse finds a new body to inhabit, it's not like she can surgically insert herself into it. Instead, she uses an army of tiny robots called nanobots that can swim through a body's bloodstream and lodge themselves in the brain. Each nanobot contains the entirety of Parse's code. They are self-replicating and highly intelligent, since they are controlled by Parse herself. Once in the brain, they secure themselves in such a way that Parse can control the motor functions, senses, etc of these bodies. Whenever she moves from one body to another, all the nanobots in the previous body self-destruct. The nanobots also keep the body from completely breaking down.

It turns out that technology like this is traceable, though not easily, and not over long distances. There are other complications, too—for example, nanobots similar to Parse's are frequently used in medicine.

But eventually, I did manage to trace Parse to the planet Sheratan. I don't know if you've ever been to Sheratan, but it's not a particularly remarkable place. It's very hot—I blame its binary star system—and mostly filled with small towns, especially in the polar regions. Parse was in one of the planet's few large cities. All in all, it took seven full days to track her down, more than I'd ever needed before. That gave me three days to figure out how to kill her.

She'd been staying in an apartment with three other people, under the guise of a Sheratan woman named Séres. That surprised me somewhat. I'd assumed that an AI like Parse would be more solitary. It didn't take me long to find some information on her housemates. I figured they'd be instrumental in my plot.

Later that day, I purposefully ran into Parse's housemate Fa'avin at the market. He was a Sheratan too. I made sure to change into some civilian clothes beforehand so as not to frighten him—I know the Shaula have quite an interplanetary reputation due to the questionable actions of our government.

"Hi," I said, in Sheratan, as casually as possible.

He whipped around, and did a double take, responding in Interplanetary Auxiliary Cheleb. "Uhh... I don't speak Sheratan."

I switched into IAC too. "Sorry to bother you."

"No, it's fine... do I know you?"

"No, no. I just happened to recognize you as Séres' housemate."

Understanding dawned on Fa'avin's face. "Ah! You know Séres?"

"No, actually. We have mutual friends, but we've never actually met. I've been looking to speak with her for a while. We have some interests in common, and she's quite renowned for her work in AI."

"Really!" He looked impressed. "Didn't know Séres was interested in AI. I thought she was a linguist."

"She's both," I quickly clarified.

"So, you want me to introduce you to Séres?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

Fa'avin frowned. "Well, we are having a community dinner tomorrow night. You know, with everyone in our apartment, plus random guests and neighbors. I'm sure you could just... show up."

"Are you sure that wouldn't be intrusive?"

"Not particularly."

"In that case, I'd be delighted."

He gave me the address of the apartment. I have to say, the whole thing was remarkably easy. Not to brag, but I am quite a good actor when it comes to these sorts of situations. Act natural, be polite, look trustworthy. The only thing going against me was the fact that I was a Shaula—but, of course, most people have the common sense to not assume that all Shaula share the same ideology as our government.

I spent most of the next day surveying the apartment, researching Séres, and coming up with a plan.

That night, I showed up at the door of the apartment, looking as innocent as possible despite hiding advanced weaponry under my clothing. The party was already in full swing, so the person who opened the door let me in without even asking who I was.

The apartment was quite big. There were tables with food set out, and some soft music was playing. About twenty to thirty people were already here, most of them eating or chatting in the main room. I noticed Parse immediately, talking with a Tarazoid man at one of the farther tables. She just looked like a regular Sheratan, with pale yellow skin and dotted markings on her bald head. She was also holding a drink. That was lucky—I could work that into my plan. I walked up to the table, and politely waited for the conversation to slow to a halt before catching Parse's attention.

"Hello," I said, starting in IAC this time.

Parse fixed her gaze upon me. I say "fixed her gaze" because the nature of her unblinking stare made it feel like she wasn't just looking at me. For an uncomfortable second I felt as if she could see every part of me, see right through my disguise just as I could see through hers.

"Hi," she replied calmly, and the feeling was gone. She had no idea who I was.

"You're Séres, right?"

"That's me."

"And you're a linguist?" I had to fact-check what Fa'avin had told me.

"I am."

I smiled. "I've heard a little about your work. It's really interesting to me."

Thankfully, Parse did not ask me what work of hers I'd heard about. Instead, her eyebrows went up in interest. "Really! I never knew I had admirers. It must've been that interview I did for Sheratan Broadcasting, right?"

"Exactly," I said. I remembered seeing an article about that interview earlier today, when doing my research about Séres.

She nodded along. "Cool. So, I suppose you want to see the raw data from the recordings?"

"That would be awesome." Then, remembering my plan, I added, "It would also be great if we could do it in a different room, though. It's a bit loud in here."

It was loud enough for the request to make sense. Parse obligingly led me into an adjacent room, shutting the door behind her. It was relatively bare, with a table, a computer, and a few chairs. Parse set her drink down on the table, woke up the computer, and started scrolling through files.

"So, what was interesting to you about my study?" she asked, not looking at me.

I watched the holoscreen. It wasn't reflective, fortunately. In one swift motion, I produced a poison tablet from my pocket and dropped it into Parse's drink. It dissolved instantly. Colorless, tasteless, and fast-acting—always a good strategy.

"I just thought the subject was really cool."

Parse chuckled. "Didn't know vowel shifts in Sheratan phonology were so fascinating to people other than me."

"No, no, it's very neat. How those vowels just... shift."

In retrospect, I obviously had no idea what I was talking about. But Parse burst out laughing, which was probably a good sign. She just thought I was awkward.

"So," she began, "you're a linguist too?"

"Not really... I don't know a lot about the topic; I just think it's interesting."

"Perhaps I could point you to some resources for learning more."

"I'd like that."

Parse hadn't taken a sip out of her drink since I'd poisoned it. It was understandable—she probably just wasn't thinking about it. But, patient though I was, I didn't want to keep stalling. I gestured to the cup.

"Is that Tarazoid cream soda?"

Fortunately I'd guessed right. She picked up the cup, frowning slightly. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Just wondering. I'm a big fan of Tarazoid sodas, but they're hard to get on Shaula, of course."

"Ahh." Parse—thankfully—sipped at the drink, nodding. "We have a bunch out in the main room, if you want to go get one."

"Absolutely—as soon as I see your recordings."

"Of course." She turned back to the computer, abruptly switching its language from IAC to something I didn't recognize. "Sorry, all my notes are in my native language, Cæmattos."

I'd never heard of that before. It didn't look like a Sheratan minority language—possibly something from the planet where Parse was created? But it didn't particularly matter. The problem was, I could no longer read what she was looking at on the holoscreen.

Okay. It was time to act.

I reached over to the door and locked it. Parse didn't notice—she was still engrossed in her file-searching. I wondered if she had any idea that the poison coursing through her bloodstream would render her dead in a matter of minutes.

She suddenly turned to me. "Okay, I have the recordings. Which would you like to hear first?"

I whipped a plasma weapon out of a concealed pocket in my jacket and sent a blast at the computer, incinerating it instantly. Parse jumped back. Strangely enough, she looked only mildly surprised, as opposed to completely shocked and horrified.

"I thought you were interested in my recordings," she said.

"Not quite," I replied.

We circled each other. Surely she now knew what I was up to. The poison didn't seem to be having any noticeable effect on her—perhaps her nanobots helped subdue it somewhat.

"So," Parse said after a few seconds, "why does the Shaula government want me dead?"

"You're a threat."

She stopped walking, frowning at me. "A threat? To whom?"

"To society."

"In what way?"

"You violate people's privacy by taking their bodies. You lie to their friends and family. You can assume many fake identities, making you hard to keep track of and basically giving you free reign in the galaxy."

Parse shrugged. "I don't play by the rules."

"The 'rules' are in place for a reason."

"I try not to hurt people."

"But you do."

"But you—" She pointed at me, staring at me again in a way I didn't like at all. "You actively try and harm people. Why does that make you any better than me?"

I paused. That was true. It was so true. And I see that now, I guess. But there was no time for morals. I had a mission. So I pointed my plasma weapon at Parse and blasted her out of existence. She didn't even have time to scream.

I checked my scanners for nanobots. There were none in the vicinity.

I quickly left the party. My work was done.

*

"And that," concludes Makuth, "is how I killed Parse."

There is silence while we both process her story. Finally, I look up at her. "Do you regret it?"

"I—" Pause. "I don't know. I guess some parts of the world are better off without her."

"What parts?"

"I'd heard some stories. Of people who Parse has hurt in some way. Usually emotionally. You can imagine—they lost someone close to them, then Parse stepped in and took that person's body."

"I've heard stories like that too," I reply, "but does that justify Parse's death?"

Makuth shakes her head. "Not quite. I still don't know."

I lean forward slightly. "One more question. How do you know you killed Parse?"

She looks at me like it's obvious. "I destroyed her body; I destroyed the computer that she could've been downloading herself into; I detected no nanobots in the building. Why?"

"Right, right." I don't mention that, while Makuth's story took place twenty years ago, other stories I've heard about Parse are much more recent. "Just wondering."