“If you ask me,” said Voln, “you could try teaching them with a sim. Kids love educational simulations. Mostly ‘cos of the skive factor.”

“I didn’t ask,” Cerrekk said pointedly, crumpling up his lesson plan. “You’re a janitor.”

“And a cyborg. I know a lot more than your average caretaker.”

“Doesn’t mean much- the average caretaker drone is dumber than a concussed kitten.”

A drone chose that choice moment to fly through the open window and pick up the discarded wastepaper. It then battered against a different window for a full minute before Voln gave up and let it out.

“Alright, they’re basically houseflies, but I meant I’m smarter than the average groundskeeper.”

Cerrekk looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t your site manager an astroengineer?”

Voln threw his drink at him. “Oh, shut up.”

The drone returned to collect the can, breaking the window on re-entry. Voln exploded into a range of expletives and Cerrekk carefully retrieved his books and left him to it.