"They are...intelligent, but they are still machines. They cannot imagine the irrational as we do."

He pushes to his feet, and the arms curl around him, as if alarmed by his sudden movement, curling inwards protectively.

"They endured...whatever that was. Death and...undeath. Logically, they cannot comprehend it, and they seek explanation. You approached and seemed a logical potential threat, a potential cause."

He shook his head, squinting.

"Not that I am doing much better." I was better off dead.