Death by Gimmick

In late 1902, Scotland Yard began to question whether it was significant that, of seven people killed by rampaging swarms of Mechanical Companions, none of them were from the roving sales force known as the Gimmick Girls.

The girls were likely to be in contact with large numbers of the robots, since their jobs often involved deactivating customers' old Mechs when they developed automaton dementia at the end of their one-year life cycle. Yet, the victims were all private citizens who died in their homes and offices and did not own multiple Mechanical Companions. The facts didn't add up.

Taking a second look at Mechs recovered from the crime scenes, detectives discovered they had been modified intentionally. An extra memory unit, with a separate program, was wired into the expired units. A close look at High London Mechanical's records revealed that some door-to-door customers had been listed as a new customer two, three, or four times, meaning their expired Companions weren't being returned to the company.

The most damning evidence of all was that every victim died in their office, parlour, library or their sitting room - places where they would entertain guests.

The victims had been murdered by a Gimmick Girl.