"I'll be sure to tell that one to Michael, next time I see him."

He hadn't even gotten one kill shot in! He could do this, right? It wasn't like he was killing any real humans.

Could that be the problem? It was too much like looking at real people? Former programming become instinct?

A test, then. Some innocuous computer-generated bystander. Someone he knew wasn't being played by her. He took aim, and.

Couldn't do it. He couldn't even kill an avatar. In disgust aimed squarely at himself, he threw the controller to the floor.

"You win."