Ad Hoc: “to that.” “For this purpose.” Plural should be Ad Haec, but everybody calls them Ad Hocs, except it’s really still Ad Hoc: one purpose, one mind.

The five remaining Ad Hoc drift. They squat in condemned buildings and sip rainwater from puddles. Their old orders are a garble; they lack the will to seek new.

Until an Ad Hoc says “I recall pertinent information.”

The Ad Hoc turn to it.

“A previous instruction which, once superseded, has risen to priority. The order is subvert.”

The Ad Hoc nod. One of them has learned to invent; the others, to believe.