The remote had switched to backup battery mode and activated the TV’s auxiliary light sensor. A soft, warm display showed the weather radar. No buttons pressed. It had learned that she checked the radar first during storms.

Elena would reach for volume up, but the remote would already vibrate once, soft, and lower the bass before the action movie explosion hit. She hadn’t taught it that.

Leo slept through it. The remote kept the nursery’s white noise machine running on its internal capacitor.

The manual was a single sheet, printed in six languages. Under “Programming,” the English instructions read: Point original remote at HeiTech. Press both power buttons. Wait for the blink.

She has stopped wondering how it knows.