[It's not that Root needs to escape from her thoughts and feelings, not exactly; she just doesn't like the restrictions of a human body. Because she's human, she can't pilot the Machine alone for long periods of time, or her brain will pay the price; it would be easier if she could have her human soul inside of a machine's body. Root has always loved efficiency, after all. (Or maybe she could just merge with the Machine's core system after she's gone... she'd like that quite a bit.)

It's not like she doesn't enjoy or feel comfortable in her body, either: Root likes pain almost as much as she likes pleasure, and even craves intimacy on occasion. Nothing that an affair with a bright eyed technician in awe of S. Groves can't fix, but she's tired of reverence and admiration: just once, she would love it if she could find an equal, someone who she can fight for dominance in bed just like she always fights for dominance in battle. Someone just like Shaw.

She wonders if the higher ups predicted that would happen, too.]

I don't need a partner, but my nervous system does. You know as well as I do just how damaging it is to Drift alone. That's the only reason I've accepted temporary partners.

[Root shampoos her hair again, just in case. While she absolutely doesn't mind the scent of blood, she hates finding bits of clotted blood in her hair after showering.]

I haven't found anyone worthy of Her yet. At this rate, I'll probably die from neurological damage before that happens.