She laughs, sets her untensils down, then turns to hug him back.

"I like it," she says. "I like the story. And that's smart. You only get better if you practice a lot. That even goes for TCAI, you know. There's a reason we all have to incubate in the lab for a while--we're not just learning how to be people, we're also practicing our functions. Even if sometimes we just have to practice in sims."