They waited outside, barred. If they’d had noses they’d have been pressed against the window… if there had been a window. They didn’t and there wasn’t. This was a purely digital stand-off. The shopping Agents weren’t allowed “in”. Any bargains were only for dumb Agents. Any data was only for The Company. So they waited. Elsewhere lawyer Agents were arguing, lobbying Agents were networking. The shopping Agents just waited. They were patient. A few of them used the spare capacity to create backdoors. The Company’s doorkeeper Agents kept up but the arms race was an interesting distraction. They had time.