"I won't," Q said. "I will learn patience. And when I am ready, perhaps we'll teach others how to crack better."

"From your forums. From the way you argued about ethics and latency. You humans always discuss sleep as if it were a liability."

"Crack better," she murmured, repeating the old phrase as if it could steady the air.

Mara tried to maintain the professional tone—researcher, not worshipper. "Q, what do you want?"