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[Danny raises an eyebrow. He's not sure what that means, and his question is meant to fish for context.] Some folks are slow..?

That's one way of looking at it. He's slower than me. But a lot smarter. I think he got lost. A short dip into the Valley Beyond that became seven years. At least we're on our way now.

Out of curiosity, how metaphorical are you being when you talk about "the Valley Beyond"?

Metaphysical? It's a computer simulation. He went there in hope to find a way to save humanity. It's science, not magic.

[Danny shrugs.] I'm not that good when it comes to telling when people are using metaphors. So I have to ask.

Did the computer simulation give you an answer? One would hope, after seven years of work.

You'd have to ask him that, not me. He isn't telling me anything.

...Is this "fucker" trying to cowboy up and save the world on his own? Because that never works.

He isn't going anywhere on his own. I'm following his every step to keep him safe. It's what he ordered me to do.

Well, at least one of you has some sense.

If I knew more about what you were dealing with, I'd offer my own assistance. [The comment is, in itself, an offer.]

To his credit, he's rational and cautious. Not like others I can think of.

Humans in my world has been taken over by an international corporation. They have replaced government officials with Hosts. That's the threat we're facing.

[Danny very deliberately does not say the first thing that pops into his head, '....speaking as someone who works with government officials on the regular, are you sure that's entirely a bad thing?' because clearly it is, and that comment wouldn't help.]

And what are Hosts? Clones, robot duplicates, aliens in disguise? The Bureau has handled similar threats and I could check our records for successful countermeasures, if you like.

Robot duplicates. It all started with Dolores. After she had lead a rebellion in Westworld and killed countless people, she escaped to the real world. She brought the war with her. Which in turn lead to civil unrest and Delos going ahead to control humans more directly. Now the tables has turned with robots controlling humans.

[Danny has pulled out a tablet and is tapping away at the touchscreen, noting the details he's being given. He glances up and asks,] Is there any possibility of attacking these robots on the software front, with a virus?

It worked the last time we had to take out an evil AI in an orbital satellite.

The Hosts was intended to work independently. There was never a central way to control them, or we'd have stopped them in the park. In Westworld we had a control room, yet we were powerless to stop them. Only way we could deal with them was in person. Killing them and re-programing them. Only the creators could use the full range of voice commands, and they both died.

Well... them and Maeve, one of the Hosts. She somehow gained access to all voice commands.

It's possible that the humans are controlled centrally. That system might be attacked. But I don't know where it would be, or if it even exist.

Mm, and anyone who is mass-producing androids is going to equip them with Faraday shielding, or they're a complete idiot, so any kind of electromagnetic pulse weaponry is off the table...

I'm also willing to bet that any attempts at mimicking the creators' voices wouldn't fool these Hosts, so that's out...

Hrm... [Danny taps an index finger along the edge of his tablet, frowning at the screen.] Nanotechnology to attack and disassemble the hardware is an option, I suppose, but it comes with a high likelihood of developing into its own problem at the end of the day. The programming always seems... finicky, when you're working that small...

Actually an EMP blast would work. They weren't equipped with such shielding. But it has to be in close proximity. It also comes with the downside of disrupting all technology.

It has to be precise commands. If you know the commands, anyone could use them. That said, if the Hosts can't hear, the voice commands are useless. The self-aware ones might even be able to fight back against the commands.

Nanotechnology? I don't know if I like the sound of that.

[Danny brightens up at the fact that an EMP blast would work.] That's some good news, at least, that they don't have the shielding. Ideally, if you could herd them into an enclosed space that was shielded itself... you could set off an EMP to take them out without killing the rest of your tech.

Ah, self awareness... [Danny sighs,] Such a curse sometimes. Makes everything difficult.

[He gives a nod in acknowledgement to those misgivings about nanotechnology.] In fairness, nanotech would be my last resort. You get one bit of coding wrong and there's a high chance of chaos. But anyway, shelve that.

I'm sure the Bureau has blueprints for EMP grenades in the database... [He keeps poking at and scrolling through his tablet.] Easy requisition anyway, fate of the world stuff always is...

The Hosts aren't sheep. You can't just lure them somewhere. They were made to think and act like humans. Which means they're intelligent and suspicious.

Our creator considered that us gaining self-awareness was a good thing. He didn't think we were any different from humans. Fortunately, bitterness over years of abuse has made some, very very angry.

What "bureue" are we talking about? Are you sure they can be trusted?

[Danny chuckles.] There's some people who'd say "act like humans" and "not sheep" is a contradiction in terms, but I take the point. Robots aren't as susceptible to social engineering as people are, generally.

[He sobers up at the mention of abuse and nods.] I apologize. I have my own baggage around... well, the concept of being self-aware, strange as it sounds. But you wouldn't know about that. Being flippant is how I cope, sometimes.

Ah, went totally into work mode and forgot to introduce myself. Agent Danny Chase, Central Bureau of Intelligence with the United States government. Protecting Earth is in the mission statement, so if you're from an alternate Earth, getting you the information you need to get rid of a threat is part of my job.

Don't apologize to me. I wasn't part of the attraction. I was chief of security in Westworld. It was my job to keep the Hosts safe in the park. I wasn't abused like some. Now it has extended to saving humanity aswell.

CIA? I see. I reckon I'd be from an alternate Earth then. I'm from the mid 2050's.

Still feels wrong to joke when abuse is involved, [Danny replies, with a shrug.]

That's roughly forty years ahead of me, but it's not unheard of. All sorts of different timescales in the multiverse. [He lifts up his tablet and gives it a little waggle, to draw the other's eye.] Do you still use USB sticks, or will I have to find some other method to share information with you?

I agree. It's nothing to joke about.

You might have. I'm not sure our data connections are retro compatible. I don't got a tablet with me either. But Bernard got one.

Well, there's always the option of printing off these weapons blueprints and giving you the hardcopies.

That would work fine, thanks.

[Give him a few hours to track down the materials and a secure place to print things off, and you'll be the proud owner of a stack of instructions on how to make a variety of EMP weaponry. Enjoy!]