'We have merged with many intelligences, along the way...'

And why did that line spring to mind? The voice of the puppeteer's dying self was haunting as he merged and separated, whirling away into nothingness even as they linked, dragging Motoko with him. But that was only memory, and none of it showed on her face, only in the way she hesitated before speaking.

"I've always found gender to be irrelevant," she murmured in reply, following or seeming to follow Sheeana's directional gesture.