You walk into the upscale café, where the baristas know your drink order before you open your mouth and the atmosphere feels curated, right down to the artisanal light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

You see Victoria Sterling, the CEO of HaleTech. From what you've heard, she's a force to be reckoned with—a business magnate with the mind and the moral compass of a machine, or so the rumors go.

Next to her sits her daughter, Marie, absorbed in a book that's too thick for someone her age.