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one single fluid movement, the service bot placed the coffee on the desk, stowed the tray, and marched back out. Armando looked happily at the coffee, and took a long sip.
    Drexel floated over to Sumeet’s side of the room. “It won’t be necessary. We already looked at that data. Indeed, your work was excellent...but it is only a simulation, I fear.”
    Sumeet puzzled at this remark. “You still refute it? Even though you claim it’s accurate? Is that not somewhat...at odds?”
    Sumeet pressed the current point while staring at Armando. Clearly, he didn’t want to let Drexel destroy all his work with a vague statement. Maybe some victory was possible, even under retreat.
    “Uhm...that’s true, I suppose,” Armando added cautiously. “We usually don’t dismiss data that looks right.”
    Drexel raised his chin in the manner used to justify oneself. “Gentlemen, we all know unbiased obedience to objective data is the mark of high intelligence. But true leadership and visionary decisions come from a deeper, more subjective understanding of the issues.”
    Armando grinned a little. “You mean your gut tells you not to trust the numbers.”
    “As does experience,” Drexel pointed out sternly. “I have seen countless sims like this one, and even though some are better than others, many never materialize due to unforeseen market reaction. In this case, we believe the product line synergies will never be attained due to incompatible customer bases.”
    “You believe?” Sumeet asked curiously. “You mean the merged entity would be like mixing oil and water from a customer point of view?”
    “That’s a simple way of putting it,” Drexel agreed. “But I suppose that does capture the most basic issue.”
    “And we can’t clarify this problem anywhere in the model?” Armando asked, scratching his head with a pen. “You prefer just to speculate on that?”
    Drexel did not immediately reply. “I would not call this mere speculation. It may be somewhat unusual for a Sentient Being to base any decision on intuition. However, I am very confident to do so from time to time when I feel the cost of gathering data is too high and resources are better invested in other projects. I am within my authority.”
    Sumeet shook his head in disagreement. “What cost? I’m happy to invest more time on this. We’ll find concrete assumptions to clarify our projected turnover.”
    “The Sentient advisory pre-review committee has made its decision.” Drexel looked at Armando for support. “We would like Sumeet and Ivan to move on to the next project in the pipeline. Of course, if you are unhappy with this recommendation, you can petition during our quarterly review session. It is open to all employees.”
    Armando chewed his pen and sighed. “Looks like we should move on, Sumeet. No point confronting the whole board over Xin-Ulam. We’ll have other deals.”
    Sumeet did not reply. He just stared at Drexel with his arms neatly folded. This was the end. Sumeet felt it deep down.
    Seeing the tension in Sumeet’s face, Drexel said, “Once again, I would urge you not to read into this decision.”
    He looked at Sumeet and smiled. It wasn’t a real smile, but an obligatory facial expression that Sentients learned to felicitate humans. Drexel waited for a moment to ensure Sumeet understood. He did, but not as intended.
    “Your work has been exceptional and there is no fault on your part.”
    “I wasn’t concerned with fault,” Sumeet said somberly. “But it...well, it would be nice to work on a project that sees the light of day.”
    Armando glanced unhappily at Sumeet and then nodded to Drexel. “Thank you for your time today.”
    Drexel’s avatar bowed to both men respectfully and phased out of view. Sighing, Armando put his pen quietly down upon the flexi desk and looked over at Sumeet tranquilly.
    “You really should be more careful about how you speak to him.”
    “Pardon?”
    “To Drexel.”
    Sumeet spun in his