I had been brought to the Aegis base complex beneath Phoenix, Arizona. After the sparse description in the recruitment letter, I was still confused about who or what Aegis actually was.

So, during a break in the interview, I decided to do a little exploring on my own. I quickly got myself lost.

Trying to find my way back, I ended up in front of a big metal door with a sign next to it: “Mechanical employees only.” Mechanical employees? Curious, I slid it open and slipped through.

“Funny, you don’t look mechanical to me.”

I jumped. Who’d said that? I looked around, but all I saw was the sports car wired to some equipment in the middle of the room.

“Uh…sorry, I, uh, got lost…” I backed toward the door, but it slid shut behind me.

“So you’re the ‘new meat,’ huh?” The voice sounded amused. “Well, you’ve got chutzpah, I’ll give you that.”

I got annoyed. “Hey, can I see who I’m talking to, please?”

The voice chuckled. “You really want to? All right.”

I stood stunned as the car unfolded into a robot.