Aunt Elaine was defeated by the smart home system at exactly seven-fifteen in the morning, and I woke to the sound of her voice drifting through the penthouse. Sharp and precise and increasingly frustrated, the words muffled through my bedroom door but the tone unmistakable. Elaine Chen was losing a battle.
I pulled on my unicorn pajamas and padded into the living room, where Elaine stood in the center facing the ceiling. Her posture was perfect and her silk blouse was immaculate, and her expression was controlled fury.
"Chen Home," she said. "Lights. On. Now."
Nothing happened.
"CHEN HOME. LIGHTS. I COMMAND YOU TO ILLUMINATE."
Nothing happened.
"This house is an idiot."
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. "Aunt Elaine, the system only responds to certain voices. It's calibrated to recognize me and Lucas."
"It should recognize authority, and I am authority."
"The house doesn't care about authority. It cares about voice recognition patterns."
