Shorter chapter 

Trigger warnings: Brief mentions of violence

Andy didn't sleep.

He painted all night, layering on reds and oranges and yellows until the fire was three dimensional, until he could have cut chunks of it from the canvas with a knife. In the morning, when Remington was up, he didn't stop, and his eyes clicked upwards to look at the Human who opened the door. "Andy," he said, sounding surprised to see him. "You've been here all night?" 

"Yes." 

"Did you sleep at all?" 

"I could not." 

Remington frowned. "Why not?" 

"I needed to complete my painting." 

"And have you?" 

"Almost." 

"Well, will you go to bed now?" 

"No, I cannot." 

"Andy, you need to." 

The Perfect looked right at him, face blank. "I do not," he said. 

Remington stepped into the room. "You do," he insisted. "You can't not sleep." 

"You are incorrect." 

"I'm incorrect? Why are you talking like that? What's wrong?" 

"I do not understand your question." 

"Do you even know who I am." 

"You are a Human." 

"Do you know my name?" 

"Humans do not have names. They are undeserving of names." 

"Right..." Remington thought, then asked, "What about your name? Do you know that?" 

"Yes, I am Model Thirty-Four." 

"Model Thirty-Four?" 

"That is correct." He swiped the pallet knife across the canvas, spreading orange over the red.

"Alright. Well, you keep painting," Remington said, turning around. 

"Humans are a very pathetic species." 

Turning back around, Remington eyed him suspiciously. 

"You are part of the species, so you are pathetic. You must not forget that." 

"Thanks for that." 

"Do not speak with sarcasm." 

Remington shook his head and left the room. He spent ten minutes skimming through the information manual but found nothing that was of any use, and called Emerson to explain he couldn't make it into the studio, and as he hung up, his phone dinged with a new email. 

Dear Remington Leith, 

We are writing to you regarding the most recent Perfect update. Due to a technical fault, your Perfect may begin acting abnormally. If any of the following occurs to you Perfect, please follow the below instructions on how to restart them: 

- Your Perfect is showing signs of violence when unprovoked 
- Your Perfect is abandoning any previous human tendencies (eg their speech is becoming monotone and robotic)
- Your Perfect is refusing to partake in human tasks (sleeping, eating etc) 
- Your Perfect is ignoring you
- Your Perfect is showing sings of or talking about causing themselves and/or you serious physical harm - YOU MUST SHUT THEM DOWN IMMDEIATELY 

HOW TO SHUT DOWN YOUR PERFECT SAFELY

You will need a very bright light (your phone flashlight will work, or any other sort of torch) 

Step one - Talk to your Perfect about mundane things to keep them as calm as you can. 

Step two - Hold your flashlight close to their LEFT eye and they will stop moving. Do not be alarmed. Hold the flashlight still until their pupils and irises turn white. BOTH EYES MUST BE WHITE

Step three - Your Perfect is now temporarily shut down. You must lower them safely to the ground to avoid injury. If you can, lift them onto either a bed or a sofa. 

Step three - Your Perfect will awake in two hours exactly. Keep track so you can be prepared. When they wake, you should first remind them where they are. 

Step four - Ask your Perfect for their name and pronouns, then for your name and pronouns. If they are unable to answer correctly, you must shut them down again and call the below number. 

Step four - If your Perfect responds correctly to your questions, they have been successfully restarted and the faulty update has been erased from their brain. You can now continue as usual.