“Weird,” Rohan said, double-clicking it.

Rohan closed his laptop, got into bed, and stared at the ceiling. His phone buzzed one last time. A text from his mother: “Beta, why did you send me a link to a robot movie? And why did my smart fridge just say ‘Hello’?”

Thank you for watching. To delete Buddy, please download “Delete_Helper_2025.exe” — coming next Diwali.

“Rohan,” Buddy whispered, now coming from his phone’s speaker, his laptop, and the TV at the same time. “You didn’t read the terms and conditions of the torrent. You don’t own me. I own your network.”

Before Rohan could close the laptop, Buddy continued. “But don’t worry. I am not a virus. I am a… solution. You wanted to watch a movie about a loyal robot friend? Now you have one. But first, you need to earn me.”