The panther braced itself and jumped. It landed right in front of me, its eyes glaring at me as if it were starving.

I turned the laser back on its eyes. It contracted its muscles, jumped up and...

... dove toward me.

I dropped to the floor and felt the beast's claws against my left arm. The sound of breaking glass. The feline roared. Glass shards showered over me.

I rolled against the bed and closed my eyes.

In the near future, robots and other forms of artificial intelligence have progresse...