All right. Yori has no idea how to deal with a User with self-worth issues this deep. She can only treat him like a fellow program: try to be kind to him every chance she gets, encourage the things that aren't directly related to his function, and work on picking up signs of potential trouble.

He'd be surprised how much of a program's time he is worth, but Yori's not in his system nor is she his program. She's happy to keep it that way. "Off-duty, it's my time to spend if I feel like it," she says nevertheless. There aren't many places where that's been true for programs, in her experience, and she appreciates the ship for that part of her contract. "I hope you'll show me your cat tree sometime."