*  *  *  *  *

On the way to Mark's apartment they discussed what to do with Eve.  She did not belong to them.  She belonged to Ferd, who was evidently very sick and might not be able to protect her from the thugs.  Eve could not take care of herself yet.  She would have to be trained to behave like other people. 

The alternative would be to go to the police.  There were some very good reasons to do so.  First, they might be able to get protection for Sabrina.  Secondly, the police would put Eve into some kind of protective custody and they would not have her as a responsibility.  The police would regard them as lunatics at first, but all Eve would have to do to prove she was not exactly human would be to give a demonstration of her accelerated healing.  Or get on a scale.  Or recite the dictionary.

Sabrina was against going to the police on moral grounds.  Eve was a person and should be able to choose what she wanted for herself.  Mark said that Eve was a very special Biologically Animated Computer.  She was the property of Ferd, just as would be any computer he had made.

Sabrina argued that Eve was a living being that could have babies and would have human emotions in the future.  Mark said she was a machine.

Sabrina was against going to the police because they might display Eve and experiment with her.  Eve also had a tendency to obey people and might comply with commands from people who did not have her best interests at heart.  Mark countered that there were two thugs planning to kill Sabrina and then use Eve for some special and probably illegal operation.

At an impasse, they decided to sleep on it.