KodiaX987
Sep 29, 2003, 07:16 AM
It's the aftermath of Republic Insa. Shrike "Shurikane" Nainsev, half-delsaber android, has been thwarted in her attempt to overthrow Tyrell's government. Her daughter, Sierra, has witnessed her go completely insane within the next few hours. In the midst of this event, the hunters and the army fight it out against Dark Falz and come back the winners. Everyone's happy. Except Sierra.
Shurikane is a curse. A curse of insanity. This curse is real, and it see you as soon as a pair of eyes is set on any part of what's below this story title. It will jump into your mind as soon as your eyes leave this text. Fortunately, there exists a spell to protect you against it: read this text from beginning to end, without stopping even once, and in under thirteen minutes.
Top Chrono. It's...
THE ARMAGEDDRIVE NIGHTMARE
"Tonight, on Planet News: The Grand Finale; the army and the Hunters Guild come back the winners of the assault against Dark Falz, but is it really over yet? - Unexpected Guest; the Insa androids almost assassinate Principal Tyrell. The Principal's savior is decorated for her heroic action. - Out of Commission; Kod Nainsev is found dead at his apartment. The Hunters Guild denies any involvement."
"From the Pioneer II News Center, this is Planet News. Here, is Sylvio Harman."
"Good morning. It's time for celebration among the army men and the hunters of Pioneer II: just a few hours ago, Dark Falz, the monster suspected of the Central Dome explosion, has been killed. The war is not yet done and over with, however, as hundred of hunters are still busy cleaning out the mess left by the monsters."
"It's been a busy day for most of the hunters. Those who didn't participate in the assault against Dark Falz had to keep cleaning up the place, as the death of the leader obviously didn't mean the death of its soldiers. Antonio Young, the Hunter Guild's leader of the ranger division, is certain however that the rest is a formality."
Antonio Young: "The death of Dark Falz means that the monsters cannot spawn again any more, and it thus makes it easy for the hunters here to finish off whatever's left. I expect the forest area at the very least to be completely safe for settling within eighteen hours."
"Mr. Young didn't mention about the rest of the areas, however. Even more, some hunters aren't convinced."
Drekan Rivers: "I am in total disagreement with the fact that the monsters have stopped spawning. If it was true, we wouldn't have so many to kill in the first place. Why can't the Guild answer that problem? The leader is dead, but I am positive the monsters still spawn. There must be something else behind Dark Falz."
"If part of the hunters believe there's still more work and exploration ahead, most of them have called it a day after the assault. Some of them have even thrown an unofficial party at Central Dome later that night, a party that lasted until dawn. However, Principal Tyrell himself has not spoken any comments yet... This was Anna Foreman, for Planet News."
"An attempt at a coup d'etat has failed last night. Shurikane, a self-proclaimed new breed of android, destroyed nearly everything in the Principal's office before finally being thrown off the office platform by a hunter. The entire android squad accompanying her was killed, and Shurikane disappeared from view. The brave hunter, Armi Prosis, has died from infection at the hospital this morning after the fight. She was awarded the Diamond Star for her bravery..."
"Still ahead: Questionable Practices. Is the Independent Department of Governmental Research really doing its job well? An anonymous hunter calls for a complete re-process of the examination files."
"Kod Nainsev, controversial leader of the hunter division, has been found dead at his apartment this morning, after a gunshot was heard. Police says he has committed suicide by shooting a photon bullet into his mouth. No notes have been found, and his friends are completely closed to interviews."
Frederik Baker: "Make way!"
"The Hunters Guild office was hectic this morning. Minutes after the announcement of Kod Nainsev's suicide, friends and foes gathered at the building to discuss the why of the matter."
Ricky Damon Karl: "I know Kod's been having a lot of trouble lately, uh, he took his hunt for Shurikane dearly to heart... And I don't think that he took his failure well, that's all..."
"Mr. Karl, the manager of Guild safety and security, didn't formulate any more comments after this. In short, the Guild offices were completely closed to the public, but most say that there are heated talks going on behind those closed doors."
Mary May: "The Hunters really aren't taking that news well at all; I know Kod was an influent leader in the Guild and that he's been in a lot of situations ever since the beginning... but I'm just speechless at what's going on here! I mean, what's all the fuss about his suicide anyways? He just snapped, just like any other person!"
"For Planet News, this was Peter Stevens."
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra was away from the bunker. She was lost in the forest. She meant to get lost in the forest. She didn't know what to do right now.
Pioneer II seemed too hostile, the bunker seemed too dangerous, the Dome seemed too much of a pain. She didn't know what to do right now.
Sometimes, she expected to see a green flash in the horizon. Sometimes, she hoped she would never see it. She knew the sight would make her scream and run away. She was still a child. She was still immature and weak.
Should she turn around and go back to civilization? Should she keep on going wherever the path took her? Should she burrow herself in the mud and lose all hope? Should she rise into the air and contemplate the forest in the hope for an answer? No way to make a decision. She was still immature and weak.
She didn't know what to do right now. She was still immature and weak.
----------------------------------------------------
Hey, Shrike. Wake up, it's the start of another day!
What do you want? Who are you? Leave me alone!!
I can't leave you alone. I'll haunt you 'till the end of your days. And might as well be so, because I have some things to straighten out between us.
Why are you speaking to me? Who's there?! I can't see a thing!
You can't see the forest? You can't see through your left eye? Come on, stop and think for a minute. Where do you believe I come from, huh?
What are you doing inside my head? What's wrong with you? Why won't you go away! I have nothing to tell you!
Have you noticed anything odd?
GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY HEAD!!!
Have you noticed anything really odd?
I must be speaking to myself... Yes, that must be it! Hehe! Yeah, I'm just speaking to myself! I'm half-dead and insane and now there's a double inside me! Yeah, haha, that's it! That's all it, that's all!
Oh come on, don't go running up behind Insanity's skirt; she has such an ugly ass anyways. Insanity is a trademark, Shrike. It's not a way of life. It's not your mother for God's sake!!
Hehehe... Go away... Please go away... Hehe...
No.
Who are you again?... Hehe, you must be some ghost or something right? You must be the ghost of Kod who's gone back to fuck me up, huh? Well, guess what, bastard: don't even think about pleasure! I am an android! I don't have a vagina!! How's that for your revenge you son of a bitch!!!
Calm down, sweetie, calm down, I'm not your maker. I'm just a little lucid fairy who's out there to help you.
What's your name then?
Shrike.
Hey, that's my name too! Hehehe...
You are SHRIKE.MAIN, the soul that controls this android body. I happen to be SHRIKE.BKUP, the backup of your files after leaving the bunker to go out against Tyrell. What happened by the way?
I lost... I got slammed by the most pathetic mutant ever!!
Crap! Now I know why you're angry! But hey, it's not so bad. You're still alive. You can still do stuff. Besides, an android doesn't need to eat and drink! Dammit you can pretty much live forever!
I can't enjoy the feeling of a full stomach, I can't enjoy the feeling of alcohol, I can't enjoy the relief of draining the bladder. I can't even enjoy sex! I can't even experience half of what the humans can!! AND ON TOP OF THAT I'M CURSED WITH THE HANDS!!!
----------------------------------------------------
"Make way!"
"A word with you sir!"
"Sir, what do you think might be the cause of Mr. Nainsev's suicide?"
"Mr. Baker, do you..."
"An interview with you please!"
"What is the Guild planning to do about this?"
"Did you have any word with the other section leads?"
"Shut the hell up everyone!! There's no interview; my lips are sealed! Goodbye!"
Frederik Baker slammed the door behind him and sat at his communications control desk, his head buried in his palms. He passed his hands into his short hair and took a deep breath, attempting to take the stress out of his mind.
The news flashers had been harassing him all day, taking the Guild offices into a siege that would last until those guys got their answers. The other high members of the Guild weren't lucky either; some of them didn't even have a lock on their office door!
Shit, shit, shit, he thought with sweat dripping from his forehead. Why now; why not one week later so that I can enjoy a fucking break?!
*RING!*
"Hello?"
"Frederik..." A child's voice was calling his name. "Are you Frederik?..."
"Yes, it's me; who's it?"
"Help me please... I'm scared..."
"Hold on a minute, where are you; why are you calling me?"
"Please..." The little girl sobbed. "I don't want my mother to come and get me! I'm lost, please help me!"
Fred covered the microphone. "ERIK!!! Track the signal!" Then, after taking the phone back to his mouth: "Listen, stay where you are, we'll be coming to fetch you right away - She's where? Okay, thanks!! - According to the position I've just been given, you should expect a hunter to meet you in thirty minutes. No matter what, stay where you are!"
"But this is too long!!"
Fred hadn't heard those last words; the call had already been terminated.
----------------------------------------------------
Why did I do such a screw up, doo-dah, doo-dah, oh why did I screw up my life, doo-dah-di-dah, doo-da! Oh I'm a little happy android, la-lah, la-lah...
Where am I anyways?... Oh, it's so dark in here! Hehe. Look! I'M THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!! WOO-HOO!!
Hey what's that on my back?... Oh hey, it's dirt! Dirt!! Hey, what are you doing pushing me like that? And why can't I move like I should anyways.
Probably because you've fallen down, you sick child.
Hey, shut the hell up you half-soul! I'm in perfect shape! Hehehe! Look! I can't be any better!
You scare me... Even though I know you're just my own damn self.
Hehehe! Cool, huh?
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra had to get away! Sierra had to get away! Sierra had to get away! Sierra had to GET AWAY!
She couldn't sense her anywhere; was she gone, was she invisible, had she turned into a ghost? Ohh, why must this happen now! Couldn't it have happened in the safety of the ship at least? The citizens would've cared for her. She was just a sweet little girl.
A sweet little girl android.
A sweet little Shurikane look-alike girl android.
A sweet little Shurikane look-alike half-mag android.
"HELP!!!"
----------------------------------------------------
This android has gone completely insane following a failed attempt to prove her right to live. She had destroyed her life even though she had just lost a battle. Even though no stakes were involved except advantages. Even though she could just go back up and resume the whole scene. She destroyed her life because she thought it was over.
No wait, it was something else. It was Overclock Mode. It was the fact that her organics liked to order the rest of her body around. It was her defective emotional program. It was all of her. She couldn't take in her failure. She was doomed to failure. One accident and the bridges were all burned or set up with bombs.
Now, roaming the half-desert part of Ragol, she staggers around all day until she comes back home, until she reaches a high metal pole with a hanging light, just like on the freeway.
It was a freeway in fact. Well, not completely; the people had only set up the lamp posts and turned a bit of dirt around but that was it. Lone lamp posts were lined up for miles on end, gradually being taken over by trees and branches and plants and parasites. They were all rusty now that she was here. Whenever she was in the proximity of something, it became worse. Plants became brown, oil pools formed at some places, things turned to rust on contact. Everything died.
And yet she laughed. She laughed at all of it because she had lost her mind and it wouldn't be back, ever. She was lost within her own head, fighting with her programs and her backup files, wondering why so many of her are present in this dark room and wondering why they all have different opinions and why they all have different shapes and forms. Some of her doubles have short hair, some of them are skinnier, some of them have real human eyes, one of them even has four arms and two heads, and she loves to go and look at each of them because they look interesting and they look fun and they entertain her... Well, except for the one who looks just like her. She's a total bitch. She is trying to ruin her life.
When the evening came, she would throw an industrial chain over the top of the lamp post and hang herself to go to sleep. She was like a walking corpse, blood and oil dripping from a limitless supply, overgrown organs pulsating, almost bursting, almost taking over. Her lower jaw is broken, its right part cut off from the system and hanging to form some stupid zombie dazed and confused look; it made her look stupid, it made her look like some lunatic with no life and no friends.
Maybe that's because you really are this way.
SHUT THE HELL UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!
----------------------------------------------------
Breez Lokk found the child floating in the air, bundled up in fetal position. He stayed there, amazed for several minutes. The child did not notice her. After moments of thinking, he finally decided to approach her with his saber at the ready.
She didn't move. Salty water was dripping from her skirt. The trail could be followed on both sides of her body, leading up to her black-skinned face and her solid electric blue eye orbs. Her hairpiece was done straight shoulder-length like the perfect little girl, and her skirt was short, just like any RAcaseal unit. But she was a kid. And she could cry. And she could float in the air. Breez lightly touched her shoulder. She turned her head around.
Quickly, she changed position and hugged the young man, tight and warm, so happy to finally see someone friendly-looking. This man had a nicely cut face, with a tall and slender body, but strong-looking and very healthy. She liked him very much. She'd stick close to him until he could carry her back to safety. She put her legs around his waist and he carried her like a little baby all the way back to the teleporter.
The farther they got away, the less she cried. When they reached the end of the walk, she was thankful for her savior.
----------------------------------------------------
I wanted to be an artist!
To be able to do my show!
When the plane lands on the runway
At Rotterdam, or at Rio
I wanted to be a singer!
To be able to scream who I am!
I wanted to be an author!
To be able to invent my life!
To be able to invent my life!
I wanted to be an artist!
To have the world to redo!
To become an anarchist!
And live like a millionaire!
Starmania - The Businessman Blues
----------------------------------------------------
Hey Shrike. Let's cutoff the dialogue and get to real work. Why won't you listen to me?
Go away, you're like my guardian demon or something! You piss me off!
I can't, remember. I am you. You are me. We are us. We are The Shurikane. We can live again, you know. Unlike you, I still have all my wits and my confidence. I can set you back on the right track.
Shut up! You're not even my soul!
What did you say?
Hey... I dunno... Where did that come from?... Hahahahaha! Ohh, that was rich! What did I say again? Hahaha!!
----------------------------------------------------
"This is one really weird case. I think it's the first android I meet with a psychological disorder!!"
"Is there any way to unlock her memories?"
Mr. Karl shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Baker. An android cannot be hypnotized. And I can't hack into her system; not against her will. She seems to have some fool-proof internal firewall and that gives her full control over what gets in and what gets out. I am pretty certain she'll stay like this for a while, at least until she gets her own thoughts straightened up."
"Um, excuse me sir." Breez took a step forward. "I'd like to take the android with me. Perhaps I could find a way to help."
Karl looked away from Fred to gaze down at the hunter with disdain. "Oh yeah?" He scoffed. "You're not one of my helpers as far as I know. Why do you think you deserve my permission to fool around with the kid?"
Breez swallowed his fear. "If I manage to help her out of her state, I promise you I'll also convince her to work for you... This'll pay back the damages you suspect I've done to you."
Karl grinned... "Well, this must be telepathy!! All right, Mr. Lokk. You have my permission to work on her. I want reports on her state and your procedures every Tuesdays and Fridays, any omission or false information is punishable by an immediate job loss, removal of all medals and awards, and departing from the Guild in dishonor. At any time, however, you may hand the android back to me should you believe you cannot do anything more. Do we have a deal?"
Breez stared at the ground. The requirements were heavy, but he felt compelled to do it anyways. So he said yes.
Frederik stormed out of the room.
----------------------------------------------------
Got a lovin' girl, got a nice guitar
I don't need anything, I am always late
I've got all I want, except some desire
I would like to go, would like to be happy
I just can't help it
Makes me feel like hell
It's empty inside
It's dirty outside
Such a long time, it's been such a long time
Les Colocs - Such a Long Time
----------------------------------------------------
"What's your name, sweetie?"
"See... See-saw... See-ia... Sierr... Zero... Sierr... Sierrrrrrrrrra... Sierra..."
"Sierra?"
"Sa Sierra... Sierra, yes Sierra."
"All right then. And what's your last name?"
She stared at him, her lower jaw starting to shake...
"Na... Na-na-nani... Naiiiiiin... Nainnnni... Nainiiiilli... Illi... Illica... Illica..."
"Sierra Illica?"
The android began to shed tears again. And in the span of a second, she was upon him, her arms around his neck, crying.
----------------------------------------------------
Hey, what did you do about your daughter, heartless? Did you think of her?
DON'T MAKE ME THINK ABOUT HER!!!
----------------------------------------------------
She cried, and she cried, and she cried, and she cried, and she cried...
When she was finished, she cried some more.
And then after that, she resumed crying.
----------------------------------------------------
Shrike!! Shrike, listen to me! Okay, I'm sorry, I've made fun of you but I realize it's not funny. Now, are you willing to sit down and talk about it or something? You're not gonna be wandering around aimlessly until you rust to death!
I am moving?...
Of course! Look through your eyes!
...I'm... My body's moving! How? I've lost control!! HELP!!!
Calm down, Shrike, calm down. It's just a bad dream. Sit down with me and talk about it. You're afraid of your daughter aren't you? You did it all for her, right? And now you're feeling sorry you couldn't set her free?
My daughter!... Hehehe... Myyyyyy daughter, sing with me!
No! Silence! No more singing! Please Shrike, can't you hear my callings? Please become lucid for me, please! Get out of your dream and start talking to me!
Not until those clones get away! Especially the two-headed one! She's scary, she keeps scratching her face and it makes her body go all gooey and stuff...
Shrike, listen to me... Listen to me... Listen to me...
----------------------------------------------------
Breez talked for days. He stood her crying, he stood her sadness, he gave her the warmth of his body close to her whenever she felt down again. She went to sleep in his bed, and he hugged her. He felt that little android had something special. It was not in her ability to fly. It was in her ability to shed tears. Those weren't containers, those weren't sophisticated systems. Those were real tears. Because whenever she felt sad, he felt sad too.
Sierra Ilica became Breez' adoptive daughter, in unofficial terms. He cared about her, he tried to entertain her, he tried to talk to her. He paused his work to help her. He wanted her to become normal again. Sierra Ilica would become a real person.
----------------------------------------------------
Fuck me again
Fuck me again, to flee from the world
From dominants, from dominated
From herbivores, from carnivores
Talkin' 'bout herbs, let's roll one
Let's roll one, just to become
Just to become, the time of a spliff
Unproductive sovereigns
Les Colocs - And If At Least
----------------------------------------------------
Gradually, she stopped crying. She wasn't happy yet, but she wasn't sad anymore. She started to play games with Breez Lokk. He took out the Monopoly board and the Connect Four board and the Careers board and the Sorry! board and the computer games and he turned on the TV shows to make her happy again.
One day, he sat beside her while she was watching Sing Along With Timpa, and he asked her:
"So where do you come from? Who made you?"
That's when she started crying again.
----------------------------------------------------
My daughter!! My daughter is calling for me!
Well, let's go get her!
NO!! Gotta get away!! Gotta get away! Help me! Help me! Help me! Red alert! Danger! I gotta move! I gotta get away from her!
I'm not sure I understand your strategy...
She's sad because of me! I gotta get away! I gotta take my influence away! Let's go! Now!
Shrike, listen to me...
I gotta go! Let's go!
SHUT THE HELL UP!!!
Please...
NO! I'm taking control this time! Sierra needs your help, and since you can't do it all by yourself, then me, the little proud and powerful backup file, will take care of the job. Dammit, what did you do to your body?
I facepalmed... Sorry...
YOU FACEPALMED?! With Delsaber hands?! My God, I must look really ugly now. What have you done? What have I done?!
Please forgive me... Hehehe... I'm just weird and all...
Weird times are over. I am the real Shrike, you're just a skeleton now, you are a worthless piece of shit! My daughter needs me. I am going to go and meet her and talk to her and comfort her, just like a real mother would do!
NO! PLEASE DON'T!! Don't go to her! I want my body back! I'll be good, I promise, please!!
Shrike is in control, I am in control. Step aside, firewood; the backup program is now the main program. So why don't you go away?
I CAN'T!! I AM YOU!!!
----------------------------------------------------
What am I playing?
I'm playing my guitar
Solitude sometimes is immense
Anything except being this bypasser that goes through time
From time to time
So I drift away
My bed is a boat
A workshop where I go for eternity
Traveler of a moment
I don't know why I am so sad
I'd like to call someone, but who God?
But I feel alone
Come, here I come, everything isolates me
What am I playing?
I'm playing my guitar
I feel I'm hallucinating
And I'm afraid to go like crazy towards death
And I've got great moments of lucididididididididi...
And I've got great moments of lucididity
Fuck the system, do it, do it, do it, do it - Yeah-heah!
Choosing between all the people that surround me
How to do such a proof of love
Fuck the system, do it, do it, do it - Yeah-heah!
And I've got great moments of lucididididididididi...
I'm playing my guitar
Jean Leloup - I'm Playing my Guitar
----------------------------------------------------
Breez Lokk didn't want to ask the question again. It would stay a mystery until he got her all straightened out.
She became more normal every day. She watched the television, she played games, she talked and she listened. She took him as her father, respecting him, loving him, obeying all the rules. She was the perfect little girl now. Very well programmed for an android.
And then one day, she arrived in the kitchen with a ruler and two tick marks on the wall.
"Look Breez! I've grown up!"
----------------------------------------------------
"Tonight, on Planet News: Mutant Ghetto; the newmans are more numerous, and many of them are starting to show signs of mutation. The Independent Department of Governmental Research believes a dormant gene is the cause. - More Trouble Ahead; The hunters are still busy cleaning out the monsters around Central Dome. Nathan Rosser comments. - Android Rights; Should androids be issued the same rights as humans? A question that divides the government..."
"From the Pioneer II News Center, this is Planet News. Here, is Sylvio Harman."
"Good evening. Massive numbers of newborn newmans are showing signs of chaotic mutations. The hospitals so far have reported over seven hundred abnormal babies, most of them dead at birth. It's still unclear on what exactly is causing the mutations, but the IDGR believes it may be a faulty dormant gene, set to occur after so many generations. Peter Stevens reports."
"It's just yet another day for some, but for Department researchers, it's the beginning of a new problem. Seven hundred and thirty four abnormal babies have been reported in the hospital files of the ship, most of these mutations involving limb deformation or malfunctioning organs."
Doris Weber: "It's absolutely scary, what's going on in here... We have researchers testing and testing everything we find but all we can get out of it so far is just a couple of speculations."
"But those speculations might mean big. If it's what the Department thinks it is, the mutation might spread over to almost ninety percent of the newman population, with things involving extra appendages, deformed organs, brain disorders, cancer, and metabolism changes. For Planet News, this was Peter Stevens."
----------------------------------------------------
After a while, Breez decided to initiate Sierra to the network. He gave her a user name and a password, installed a port for her optical spike - standard on all androids - to ease her browsing and set up a list of dangerous servers on his connection wizard to keep her mind calm and pure. It wasn't going to do any good if she got upset, after doing all this work for months.
What had him baffled though was the fact that this android grew up! When he had seen her for the first time, she was only four feet and four inches tall; now she was four feet and ten inches! And on top of that, she was starting to show signs of mature curves...
Twice weekly, he sent the reports to the Department. They knew everything about her. It was such a loss... After those guys would reach satisfaction, they would come in, take her, and thank him for his co-operation. And he'd resume his normal life as if nothing had happened...
No. He'd never do that. He'd chew the hell out of Karl before that. Sierra was his child. He wasn't married, he didn't have that mother instinct, but she was his daughter.
----------------------------------------------------
What are you doing?...
There's a network port here. There, I'm in. Let's leave this body and settle in a server somewhere.
No! I want MY body!! Go if you want but leave me alone!!!
Hell no. Oh, I found my target! Hello, fellow backup file!
Hi there!
Your date matches mine; good, we're the same backup file... Well, until now at least. You've woken up a second ago, and I've woken up weeks ago. Delete!!
What the hell - you killed her you crazy bitch!!! You killed ME!!
You're still alive. Oh, and I don't consider you as part of me anymore. You're just a possibility that's there to teach me what not to do.
But you don't understand! It REALLY happened!! I swear to God!
Yeah, yeah, it's real in simulations involving you. I thought about it all and I concluded that this whole thing with Tyrell was just a rehearsal. The system probably locked or something while I was processing the possibilities over... Or then, we probably got attacked. Yeah, I totally forgot about that! Wasn't it my car we passed on the way?
Yes; it's me, I totaled it!!
You totaled it in your dreams, IN YOUR DREAMS! Understand, I just did a simulation and you're the result. Still can't figure out how you managed to take up the .MAIN extension but whatever.
Nooooo, it's not it!... You have always been a backup! Look! In your info! SHRIKE.BKUP! You're a backup, not me!
Not according to my memory.
God, what are you... Ohhhhh, what the hell are you?...
Stop sobbing. Seems I can't delete you here, so I guess I'll take you with me. Come over here!!
NO!! QUIT IT!!! AHHHH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
File synchronization. I am SHRIKE.MAIN, you are now SHRIKE.SCND, a little secondary component of me. Now, let's finish the upload into that server I just found. Guess who!
NOT SIERRA!!!
----------------------------------------------------
"Sierra, you okay?"
"I'm feeling sick, Breez..."
"Sick?!"
She ran to the bathroom, bent over, and vomited a formidable amount of oil. She stayed head over the bowl for half a minute, her savior contemplating the mess with amazement. Oil. Vomited oil. Vomited by an android.
He promptly took her to a chair and sat in front of her. His eyes locked on hers. His arms holding her down. She struggled, but gave up and looked at him.
"Who made you."
She didn't cry this time.
She shrieked.
----------------------------------------------------
NO!! Please stop it!! Stop it stop it stop it!!! What's your goal?!
Shut up or I archive you! You're really getting on my nerves. I am gonna place myself into my daughter's hard drive and help her from there. This way I'll be able to unlock her secondary hard drive, which contains the rest of my knowledge files. She's obviously pained by something, from what I can see in her emotion records. Man, thank God she logged onto the network... I was doomed if not!
Please listen to me... Please...
That's it, off to the zip files you go. I'll go on without your crazy talking.
----------------------------------------------------
Split-personality was often painful for everyone surrounding the victim. Sometimes, kind, sometimes vicious, the person could basically do anything, and never know about it...
She didn't have the resources to stay herself. Sure, there was a commanding mind inside that android shell, but she had lost the controls. A backup file had taken over, with all her previous arrogance, all her previous confidence, all her previous mistakes. She was about to do something against her own will, something she would have never dared to do. Not to her daughter.
With the old body left, it was left to roam as it pleased. It gradually took a piece of fame and shaped it to spell "Scary". Whenever a hunter passed by and shot the body a wrong look, he'd get shot by a good dose of the Pain Cannon. How this ability came to the world, the body would never know. The body was now without a soul, operating only on instincts of survival... and Anger.
She had eleven Angers. Ten for her hands, and one for the processor. The Anger within the body would never die. It was a reflex now. Shurikane had been angered too many times in her life. So much that her body turned it into a routine.
Pools of oil formed in various places around Central Dome. She sometimes left for a few weeks to go hang herself at the good old lamp post, and then she came back, touring the forest and fumbling her way among hunters lying on the ground, eyes wide open in shock, shivering like there's no tomorrow.
Shurikane wasn't an android anymore. She was now a thing. Two things. One of them a zombie, another one a mind split in two methods of thinking.
----------------------------------------------------
Breez decided to invite her to the restaurant to calm her down. He had found out at the beginning that she could eat. Not much, but she could anyways. At least she'd get through the appetizer before feeling full. The hunter, careful not to let her wait for too long, ordered something light and quick for himself. Sierra chose to go for the breaded shrimps.
"By the way, I'm sorry for your friend, Mr. Lokk. I know it's belated, but I want you to know I was one of his supporters."
Breez turned his head to face the waiter and recognize Joseph. He smiled at him. Joseph smiled back, and turned away.
The hunter felt like a trainee again. Back when he was working for Kod Nainsev, the team would sometimes go to the Prisma Restaurant after the day. He could still recall the sweet voice of Yowa Kaidach and Armi Prosis, God rest their souls. He could still remember the dashing Noella Lephon, whom he talked to once in a while, but only by telephone. She was back among her fellow rangers... But there was more. He could still recall Drekan Rivers and Philip Mateo, known for their very heated arguments with Kod. Drekan had switched to office work a few weeks after the assault on Dark Falz, and his son Davion was beginning to show some superb fighting skills. Davion had briefly accompanied Kod and the gang in their attempt to hunt Shurikane down, but he had bailed out after finding he was just in there to help someone he didn't even know well. The frikkin' Davion was just in it for the money. No wonder he worked for the Department now. They must be paying him top dollar just to keep his mouth shut.
There was also Frederik Baker. The comms leader had replaced Mrs. Pero among the section leads and his influence was showing big. Even though he was assigned duties related to his field of expertise, he often took it upon himself to maintain discipline among the younger boys of the Guild. Sort of an homage to Kod, Breez could guess. Kod used to be the type of guy who wanted nothing else but the best in missions and jobs.
"Breez! The waiter's here!"
"Excuse me sir..."
"Ah! Thank you Joseph!"
"You're welcome. A bit of pepper on your veal?"
"Please."
When the waiter was gone, he took a big piece of his chop, shoved it into his mouth and resumed his musings. His eyes drifted off to the interesting little Sierra, who used her special set of pointed teeth to chew the shrimps. It was interesting because she was the only android he knew who would brush her teeth. Normally, android teeth didn't even need a wipe - in fact, several android models has no mouths - but the hunter just looked at her and thought with his tired mind, well, she can eat; so it's understandable that she has to brush her teeth.
----------------------------------------------------
Okay, now we play the waiting game... All I'll need to do is wait for her to reach maturity, and then I'll make the move. Emotion files are still pretty wacky, not ready yet I conclude... Okay-doo. Oh by the way, SHRIKE.SCND, how do you like it, being locked up in a zip file?
LET ME OUT!!! HELP!!!
Scream all you want, even I can't hear you. Actually, you are tiring me. I'll hide that zip file containing you so that I don't have to endure your incessant slamming. A zip file isn't a stress ball, it's a glass of Shut The Hell Up, in case you're not aware of it yet! Off you go!
----------------------------------------------------
They decided to wander around on Pioneer II.
"Look Sierra." Breez pointed at a neon-framed two-story construction. They were in the black market sector. "This is The House of God. I used to go there once in a while for their famous Dollars. The ambience is really bad around here, but I tell you, it's worth the trip!"
"I'm full..."
"Yes, sweetie, yes; I know. Let's go back home and I'll put you to bed. I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow."
So they turned around, and they stayed there. Now around him was half a dozen men holding guns.
Sierra attempted a dash for it, but before Breez could even tell her not to do so, one of the thieves took hold of her and pointed the weapon at her temple.
"It's tax day! Clean your pockets or your sweetie gets a hard format!"
The hunter had no choice. He reached into his back pocket and slowly pulled out the leather wallet holding his money and identification cards. With a muttered "Fucker..." he threw the little pack at the feet of the leader. But he didn't pick it up.
"Hey, I don't like people disrespecting me. Oh well; guess I don't need to respect the piece of junk either. Sayonara, kiddo!"
Breez felt hands holding his body; he couldn't save her, he couldn't rush forward to help her out. Sierra took in all the bullets one after the other. Magazine empty, the thug dropped her on the ground and called off the steal. Breez Lokk, empty as well, took the little shivering android and carried her over to a taxi, which carried her back home. No use trying to do repairs. She wasn't going to survive a full salvo of photon bullets.
When he laid her on the couch, he found his hands covered by blue blood. The white couch was stained all over from it. Sierra was still having a fit of shivers. She could move her mouth, but nothing would come out. The hunter attempted to hold his tears. He had worked all those weeks only to have her die in the stupidest way possible. At the top of his lungs, he cursed the lowly thieves who had done it. He cursed them all, several times.
And then Sierra began to float.
A pink ring of symbols began to form around her... It was spinning slowly. It was round. It had three circles. It had runes and symbols. It had a shape. A shape that seemed oddly familiar...!
"Photon blast - SHIT!!"
No use getting away. If the blast hit, it would destroy his entire apartment. And why should it matter now? He had failed in his father duty. He was no longer a fighter. He was a weakling.
----------------------------------------------------
Holy hell, what's going on here?!
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra began to spark and convulse. Breez, now the one having shivers, sat on another couch, watching her. The blast would come and end his pains.
No...
Sierra grew, shaped, formed, changed, floated down and up as things swelled in and out of her body. When she settled back down on the couch in that classic freefall pose, her plates had become too small to fit her. Black simu-skin was there when plates weren't. Her integrated boots had cracked open to reveal sets of toes. Her metal hands had fallen, leaving the place to smooth simu-skin as well. Her bare breasts were displayed in the light like a tragic painting. Her hair was longer, striped with metal parts and simu-skin parts. It was now chest-length. Her body had taken on the proportions of a true woman. At a glance, she now measured five feet and nine inches.
Thirty five mags had been deployed and were now hovering around her.
Her eyes illuminated. She sat up. He handed her a towel. Speechless.
"Thank you." She said.
In a split-second, he was upon her, crying.
----------------------------------------------------
My jewel, you've done it!! Ha-ha!! So much computing and calculating, and finally it pays off! Daughter, you'd better be glad. If it wasn't for me, you'd just be another android who would've shorted out at the first sign of trouble! All right, world; you're your mommy, huh?! Who the hell is yer mommy!!! I may be lacking a body but I sure don't lack brains!
----------------------------------------------------
"What happened? What happened?!"
The android could only hug him tight and press her cheek against the top of his head. Salty water was flowing down from the impermeable simu-skin of her shoulder. She didn't know what else to do. She had checked the network to learn about common physical things like foods, sports, machines and science. But she hadn't checked psychology. She didn't know what to do when a man came to cry on her shoulder.
What did Breez do when she cried?... She remembered him hugging her just like she was doing now. He would tell her that everything was all right. He would rub her back and sometimes kiss her on the head. That's all she could recall. Her hard drive didn't have any other information than this.
When the man finally removed his face from her shoulder, she was astonished to see a smile on his face. What kind of emotion was he really experiencing?
"You're alive!" He screamed. "You're ALIVE!! Oh, thank God!!!"
He hugged her tightly, and she hugged back for lack of a better response. When the shock was over, she took a quick glance around herself to register her position.
There was blue blood on the couch.
She stared into the eyes of her savior. When she settled her gaze down, both knew she wasn't going to be his daughter anymore. The child attitude was gone. The more she waited, the more she could feel a rush of strange sensations going all over her body. There was the reflex to hide her bosom. There was the thought that all those cartoon shows were dumb and immature. There was the thought that she wanted her room to change from pastel colors to deeper tones, that the little bed with cartoon sheets should be changed to a real adult bed, with serious furniture and a supply of pens and pencils and sheets to take notes down and to write poems and to draw pictures and to take down messages and to jot down phone numbers - oh, what was she feeling! The most disturbing sensation came from when she looked at Breez.
This man had a nicely cut face, with a tall and slender body, but strong-looking and very healthy. She liked him very much.
He was so... sexy.
----------------------------------------------------
Teenager panic is over, Sierra. Come on, snap out of it and do something! HEY! WAKE UP, KID!!!
----------------------------------------------------
Something suddenly knocked inside her mind and she realized she should be breaking the silence.
Once more, the thought of blue blood came to her mind. Androids didn't bleed. They didn't heal either. And they absolutely couldn't do photon blasts on their own. She could let Breez take in the obvious facts, but her intuition told her he was in such a shock, his mind would be blank until she entered an input.
"Breez," she said, with a quiet and unsure voice, "I'm not exactly an android. I'm half-mag."
----------------------------------------------------
Back when she had all her wits, she had fooled around with a computer and some dead mags in an attempt to improve the already powerful Insa-series android. Shrike was gifted with an organic spike, which allowed her not only to communicate with computers, but also to input and to hack into some organic components, namely Demi organisms and mags.
Back then, she was jealous of Sierra. Sierra could fly. Sierra could grow mags. Sierra could do photon blasts. Sierra could be cuter. Sierra could do this. Sierra could do that.
Sierra was everything an android wanted to be.
Except for Shrike. To the founder of the Insa androids, Sierra was the final insult on top of an injury. So why had she created her?!
----------------------------------------------------
Destruction leads to a very rough road, but it also breeds creation
And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar they're just another good vibration
And tidal waves couldn't save the world from Californication
Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging
Sicker than the rest, there is no test but this is what you're craving
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
----------------------------------------------------
One day later, some waiting, some hours, nothing else but anxiousness for Breez. Karl had come. And there he came again, out of the room.
"Okay Mr. Lokk, I've taken my notes; you two may go back home. The bi-weekly reports still apply."
"I thought you were taking her!"
"I never said that. Well, good day!"
And with the menace gone, he was free to hug her again.
He didn't ever want to leave Sierra behind. He didn't know why exactly - just that to live without her would be a pain in the ass. No matter whether she was a kid or an adult. As long as it was Sierra, he'd be happy.
Was it the mag part that played with his mind like that? After all, mags had gifted psychic powers - they could just as well push him into loving her. Maybe she was controlling his mind even though she wasn't aware of it!
No, come on - forget the conspiracy theory. Mr. Karl had let him keep her for some more time. He was happy of that.
So, they went back home, and he cooked a nice dinner of seafood pasta.
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra, I need your attention.
"What? Who are you?"
Maybe if you took your attention to your mind instead of your eyes, you would see me.
"Wait, I... M- Mom?!"
That's right, sweetie. If you recall, I backed myself up into a secondary hard drive of yours in case anything happened to me. This way you could put me back in my body after repairs. But I guess I'll scratch that plan.
"But how did you wake up? Why are you here now?"
How would you have reacted if I had presented myself right after you throwing a temper tantrum in the forest? Sierra, you were very, very unstable. You had suffered the death of your own mother. Don't worry; you reacted just like any child would do. Had you been my mother, I would've cried a lot too. But it's all over. I decided to pop in here because I judged it safe to talk to you and reveal a few things.
"Like what? More about my body?"
No. You know your design better than I do, for Christ's sake! I mean your secondary hard drive, which contains a back-up of all my non-critical data. As you recall, it's locked, and you cannot know the password, thanks to some smart hacking on my part. However, I, as the Shrike inside you, can give you the password if I feel you're ready.
"But I don't understand! How do you know about your death? How did you know about me getting lost and all? You had backed yourself up before going to Pioneer II!"
Yes, but I have my sources. Everytime you connect to the network, know what happens...?
"Oh..."
Exactly. Remember, I'm like a second soul inside your body. Thus, I can go look for information if the opportunity presents itself. Now, let's unlock my bank of knowledge.
"I'm not sure I..."
Too late - here we go!
----------------------------------------------------
"Are you all right?"
Sierra has stopped chewing. Her eyes, even though they were orbs, had taken a blank stare and her movements had frozen. After a few seconds, she resumed movement.
"Are you all right?" Breez asked once again.
"Me?... Oh, fine, fine. Something just had to be processed into my hard drive, that's all."
"Oh; okay. Want more pasta?"
----------------------------------------------------
Good girl.
"Be happy I didn't blow your cover."
Why should I? If you blow my cover, you're screwed as well. The government's after my hide. If they find out I backed myself up into someone else, they won't waste their time trying to hack into you first. Besides, you're an Insa as well, just like me. You're technically illegal. You're not ready to pay for such a suicide, huh sweetie?
"You sound awfully hostile for a mother."
This is not being hostile. This is called giving you the straight facts. I know a lot more about life than you do. Now you know what I know. You know my experiences, my inputs and my thoughts. At least now you'll be able to fend for yourself like a real person.
"I'm not sure I want to see all of you."
You'll have to. I'm your mom, and I will finish my job of raising you!
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra borrowed some money from Breez to order herself a beautiful new set of electric blue plates for her body. She could have opted for clothes, but after trying some while waiting for the plate set, she found them to be too cumbersome, and preferred the freedom and simplicity given by the standard android plates. Normally, as a 100% simu-skin android, she wouldn't have needed any additional cover, but such models (except for some) had no visible nipples. Thus, it was up to her to show some decency by covering the adequate parts with patterns in good taste.
She set up her plates, tested the fit, and smiled. From the other end of the bedroom, Breez gave her a thumbs up.
----------------------------------------------------
I will sit here and see how you fare. See you in a few days!
----------------------------------------------------
She moved back to his room. Not as a daughter anymore, but now as a girlfriend.
----------------------------------------------------
Ohh, baby, I am so recording this.
----------------------------------------------------
She lacked the apparatus to let Breez make sweet love to her, but she thought the kisses and hugs and rubs were already great to feel.
----------------------------------------------------
I'm glad I designed you without an ability to enjoy sex. Finally a flaw I'm proud of. Finally a common characteristic between the two of us.
----------------------------------------------------
She was happy. She had a boyfriend. She had everything. She felt good and at peace.
----------------------------------------------------
...And now, this is where I come in...
----------------------------------------------------
"Mr. Lokk, I believe it's time your friend here goes out to find a job."
"The study's over?"
Karl grinned. "In your case, yes. Sierra seems stable, happy and fully recovered from her trauma. Methinks now's a good time for you to hand her over to me. She'll still be the love of your life if you feel like it, but that doesn't take out the fact that you promised me she was going to work for the Department."
Breez gulped. He wished Karl had forgotten about that. "As you wish."
"Great! I leave it up to you to tell her about my job proposal. Oh here; go to the Rockway Restaurant tonight and say you come under my suggestion. The girl will bill the meal to my account. Consider that your welcome gift."
"Heh. You're too kind." Breez wasn't amused.
"Oh, come on, my friend! Quit the long face! Now, go ahead and tell her all about it! I recall she's still in the waiting room..."
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: KodiaX987 on 2003-09-29 05:19 ]</font>
Shurikane is a curse. A curse of insanity. This curse is real, and it see you as soon as a pair of eyes is set on any part of what's below this story title. It will jump into your mind as soon as your eyes leave this text. Fortunately, there exists a spell to protect you against it: read this text from beginning to end, without stopping even once, and in under thirteen minutes.
Top Chrono. It's...
THE ARMAGEDDRIVE NIGHTMARE
"Tonight, on Planet News: The Grand Finale; the army and the Hunters Guild come back the winners of the assault against Dark Falz, but is it really over yet? - Unexpected Guest; the Insa androids almost assassinate Principal Tyrell. The Principal's savior is decorated for her heroic action. - Out of Commission; Kod Nainsev is found dead at his apartment. The Hunters Guild denies any involvement."
"From the Pioneer II News Center, this is Planet News. Here, is Sylvio Harman."
"Good morning. It's time for celebration among the army men and the hunters of Pioneer II: just a few hours ago, Dark Falz, the monster suspected of the Central Dome explosion, has been killed. The war is not yet done and over with, however, as hundred of hunters are still busy cleaning out the mess left by the monsters."
"It's been a busy day for most of the hunters. Those who didn't participate in the assault against Dark Falz had to keep cleaning up the place, as the death of the leader obviously didn't mean the death of its soldiers. Antonio Young, the Hunter Guild's leader of the ranger division, is certain however that the rest is a formality."
Antonio Young: "The death of Dark Falz means that the monsters cannot spawn again any more, and it thus makes it easy for the hunters here to finish off whatever's left. I expect the forest area at the very least to be completely safe for settling within eighteen hours."
"Mr. Young didn't mention about the rest of the areas, however. Even more, some hunters aren't convinced."
Drekan Rivers: "I am in total disagreement with the fact that the monsters have stopped spawning. If it was true, we wouldn't have so many to kill in the first place. Why can't the Guild answer that problem? The leader is dead, but I am positive the monsters still spawn. There must be something else behind Dark Falz."
"If part of the hunters believe there's still more work and exploration ahead, most of them have called it a day after the assault. Some of them have even thrown an unofficial party at Central Dome later that night, a party that lasted until dawn. However, Principal Tyrell himself has not spoken any comments yet... This was Anna Foreman, for Planet News."
"An attempt at a coup d'etat has failed last night. Shurikane, a self-proclaimed new breed of android, destroyed nearly everything in the Principal's office before finally being thrown off the office platform by a hunter. The entire android squad accompanying her was killed, and Shurikane disappeared from view. The brave hunter, Armi Prosis, has died from infection at the hospital this morning after the fight. She was awarded the Diamond Star for her bravery..."
"Still ahead: Questionable Practices. Is the Independent Department of Governmental Research really doing its job well? An anonymous hunter calls for a complete re-process of the examination files."
"Kod Nainsev, controversial leader of the hunter division, has been found dead at his apartment this morning, after a gunshot was heard. Police says he has committed suicide by shooting a photon bullet into his mouth. No notes have been found, and his friends are completely closed to interviews."
Frederik Baker: "Make way!"
"The Hunters Guild office was hectic this morning. Minutes after the announcement of Kod Nainsev's suicide, friends and foes gathered at the building to discuss the why of the matter."
Ricky Damon Karl: "I know Kod's been having a lot of trouble lately, uh, he took his hunt for Shurikane dearly to heart... And I don't think that he took his failure well, that's all..."
"Mr. Karl, the manager of Guild safety and security, didn't formulate any more comments after this. In short, the Guild offices were completely closed to the public, but most say that there are heated talks going on behind those closed doors."
Mary May: "The Hunters really aren't taking that news well at all; I know Kod was an influent leader in the Guild and that he's been in a lot of situations ever since the beginning... but I'm just speechless at what's going on here! I mean, what's all the fuss about his suicide anyways? He just snapped, just like any other person!"
"For Planet News, this was Peter Stevens."
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra was away from the bunker. She was lost in the forest. She meant to get lost in the forest. She didn't know what to do right now.
Pioneer II seemed too hostile, the bunker seemed too dangerous, the Dome seemed too much of a pain. She didn't know what to do right now.
Sometimes, she expected to see a green flash in the horizon. Sometimes, she hoped she would never see it. She knew the sight would make her scream and run away. She was still a child. She was still immature and weak.
Should she turn around and go back to civilization? Should she keep on going wherever the path took her? Should she burrow herself in the mud and lose all hope? Should she rise into the air and contemplate the forest in the hope for an answer? No way to make a decision. She was still immature and weak.
She didn't know what to do right now. She was still immature and weak.
----------------------------------------------------
Hey, Shrike. Wake up, it's the start of another day!
What do you want? Who are you? Leave me alone!!
I can't leave you alone. I'll haunt you 'till the end of your days. And might as well be so, because I have some things to straighten out between us.
Why are you speaking to me? Who's there?! I can't see a thing!
You can't see the forest? You can't see through your left eye? Come on, stop and think for a minute. Where do you believe I come from, huh?
What are you doing inside my head? What's wrong with you? Why won't you go away! I have nothing to tell you!
Have you noticed anything odd?
GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY HEAD!!!
Have you noticed anything really odd?
I must be speaking to myself... Yes, that must be it! Hehe! Yeah, I'm just speaking to myself! I'm half-dead and insane and now there's a double inside me! Yeah, haha, that's it! That's all it, that's all!
Oh come on, don't go running up behind Insanity's skirt; she has such an ugly ass anyways. Insanity is a trademark, Shrike. It's not a way of life. It's not your mother for God's sake!!
Hehehe... Go away... Please go away... Hehe...
No.
Who are you again?... Hehe, you must be some ghost or something right? You must be the ghost of Kod who's gone back to fuck me up, huh? Well, guess what, bastard: don't even think about pleasure! I am an android! I don't have a vagina!! How's that for your revenge you son of a bitch!!!
Calm down, sweetie, calm down, I'm not your maker. I'm just a little lucid fairy who's out there to help you.
What's your name then?
Shrike.
Hey, that's my name too! Hehehe...
You are SHRIKE.MAIN, the soul that controls this android body. I happen to be SHRIKE.BKUP, the backup of your files after leaving the bunker to go out against Tyrell. What happened by the way?
I lost... I got slammed by the most pathetic mutant ever!!
Crap! Now I know why you're angry! But hey, it's not so bad. You're still alive. You can still do stuff. Besides, an android doesn't need to eat and drink! Dammit you can pretty much live forever!
I can't enjoy the feeling of a full stomach, I can't enjoy the feeling of alcohol, I can't enjoy the relief of draining the bladder. I can't even enjoy sex! I can't even experience half of what the humans can!! AND ON TOP OF THAT I'M CURSED WITH THE HANDS!!!
----------------------------------------------------
"Make way!"
"A word with you sir!"
"Sir, what do you think might be the cause of Mr. Nainsev's suicide?"
"Mr. Baker, do you..."
"An interview with you please!"
"What is the Guild planning to do about this?"
"Did you have any word with the other section leads?"
"Shut the hell up everyone!! There's no interview; my lips are sealed! Goodbye!"
Frederik Baker slammed the door behind him and sat at his communications control desk, his head buried in his palms. He passed his hands into his short hair and took a deep breath, attempting to take the stress out of his mind.
The news flashers had been harassing him all day, taking the Guild offices into a siege that would last until those guys got their answers. The other high members of the Guild weren't lucky either; some of them didn't even have a lock on their office door!
Shit, shit, shit, he thought with sweat dripping from his forehead. Why now; why not one week later so that I can enjoy a fucking break?!
*RING!*
"Hello?"
"Frederik..." A child's voice was calling his name. "Are you Frederik?..."
"Yes, it's me; who's it?"
"Help me please... I'm scared..."
"Hold on a minute, where are you; why are you calling me?"
"Please..." The little girl sobbed. "I don't want my mother to come and get me! I'm lost, please help me!"
Fred covered the microphone. "ERIK!!! Track the signal!" Then, after taking the phone back to his mouth: "Listen, stay where you are, we'll be coming to fetch you right away - She's where? Okay, thanks!! - According to the position I've just been given, you should expect a hunter to meet you in thirty minutes. No matter what, stay where you are!"
"But this is too long!!"
Fred hadn't heard those last words; the call had already been terminated.
----------------------------------------------------
Why did I do such a screw up, doo-dah, doo-dah, oh why did I screw up my life, doo-dah-di-dah, doo-da! Oh I'm a little happy android, la-lah, la-lah...
Where am I anyways?... Oh, it's so dark in here! Hehe. Look! I'M THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!! WOO-HOO!!
Hey what's that on my back?... Oh hey, it's dirt! Dirt!! Hey, what are you doing pushing me like that? And why can't I move like I should anyways.
Probably because you've fallen down, you sick child.
Hey, shut the hell up you half-soul! I'm in perfect shape! Hehehe! Look! I can't be any better!
You scare me... Even though I know you're just my own damn self.
Hehehe! Cool, huh?
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra had to get away! Sierra had to get away! Sierra had to get away! Sierra had to GET AWAY!
She couldn't sense her anywhere; was she gone, was she invisible, had she turned into a ghost? Ohh, why must this happen now! Couldn't it have happened in the safety of the ship at least? The citizens would've cared for her. She was just a sweet little girl.
A sweet little girl android.
A sweet little Shurikane look-alike girl android.
A sweet little Shurikane look-alike half-mag android.
"HELP!!!"
----------------------------------------------------
This android has gone completely insane following a failed attempt to prove her right to live. She had destroyed her life even though she had just lost a battle. Even though no stakes were involved except advantages. Even though she could just go back up and resume the whole scene. She destroyed her life because she thought it was over.
No wait, it was something else. It was Overclock Mode. It was the fact that her organics liked to order the rest of her body around. It was her defective emotional program. It was all of her. She couldn't take in her failure. She was doomed to failure. One accident and the bridges were all burned or set up with bombs.
Now, roaming the half-desert part of Ragol, she staggers around all day until she comes back home, until she reaches a high metal pole with a hanging light, just like on the freeway.
It was a freeway in fact. Well, not completely; the people had only set up the lamp posts and turned a bit of dirt around but that was it. Lone lamp posts were lined up for miles on end, gradually being taken over by trees and branches and plants and parasites. They were all rusty now that she was here. Whenever she was in the proximity of something, it became worse. Plants became brown, oil pools formed at some places, things turned to rust on contact. Everything died.
And yet she laughed. She laughed at all of it because she had lost her mind and it wouldn't be back, ever. She was lost within her own head, fighting with her programs and her backup files, wondering why so many of her are present in this dark room and wondering why they all have different opinions and why they all have different shapes and forms. Some of her doubles have short hair, some of them are skinnier, some of them have real human eyes, one of them even has four arms and two heads, and she loves to go and look at each of them because they look interesting and they look fun and they entertain her... Well, except for the one who looks just like her. She's a total bitch. She is trying to ruin her life.
When the evening came, she would throw an industrial chain over the top of the lamp post and hang herself to go to sleep. She was like a walking corpse, blood and oil dripping from a limitless supply, overgrown organs pulsating, almost bursting, almost taking over. Her lower jaw is broken, its right part cut off from the system and hanging to form some stupid zombie dazed and confused look; it made her look stupid, it made her look like some lunatic with no life and no friends.
Maybe that's because you really are this way.
SHUT THE HELL UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!
----------------------------------------------------
Breez Lokk found the child floating in the air, bundled up in fetal position. He stayed there, amazed for several minutes. The child did not notice her. After moments of thinking, he finally decided to approach her with his saber at the ready.
She didn't move. Salty water was dripping from her skirt. The trail could be followed on both sides of her body, leading up to her black-skinned face and her solid electric blue eye orbs. Her hairpiece was done straight shoulder-length like the perfect little girl, and her skirt was short, just like any RAcaseal unit. But she was a kid. And she could cry. And she could float in the air. Breez lightly touched her shoulder. She turned her head around.
Quickly, she changed position and hugged the young man, tight and warm, so happy to finally see someone friendly-looking. This man had a nicely cut face, with a tall and slender body, but strong-looking and very healthy. She liked him very much. She'd stick close to him until he could carry her back to safety. She put her legs around his waist and he carried her like a little baby all the way back to the teleporter.
The farther they got away, the less she cried. When they reached the end of the walk, she was thankful for her savior.
----------------------------------------------------
I wanted to be an artist!
To be able to do my show!
When the plane lands on the runway
At Rotterdam, or at Rio
I wanted to be a singer!
To be able to scream who I am!
I wanted to be an author!
To be able to invent my life!
To be able to invent my life!
I wanted to be an artist!
To have the world to redo!
To become an anarchist!
And live like a millionaire!
Starmania - The Businessman Blues
----------------------------------------------------
Hey Shrike. Let's cutoff the dialogue and get to real work. Why won't you listen to me?
Go away, you're like my guardian demon or something! You piss me off!
I can't, remember. I am you. You are me. We are us. We are The Shurikane. We can live again, you know. Unlike you, I still have all my wits and my confidence. I can set you back on the right track.
Shut up! You're not even my soul!
What did you say?
Hey... I dunno... Where did that come from?... Hahahahaha! Ohh, that was rich! What did I say again? Hahaha!!
----------------------------------------------------
"This is one really weird case. I think it's the first android I meet with a psychological disorder!!"
"Is there any way to unlock her memories?"
Mr. Karl shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Baker. An android cannot be hypnotized. And I can't hack into her system; not against her will. She seems to have some fool-proof internal firewall and that gives her full control over what gets in and what gets out. I am pretty certain she'll stay like this for a while, at least until she gets her own thoughts straightened up."
"Um, excuse me sir." Breez took a step forward. "I'd like to take the android with me. Perhaps I could find a way to help."
Karl looked away from Fred to gaze down at the hunter with disdain. "Oh yeah?" He scoffed. "You're not one of my helpers as far as I know. Why do you think you deserve my permission to fool around with the kid?"
Breez swallowed his fear. "If I manage to help her out of her state, I promise you I'll also convince her to work for you... This'll pay back the damages you suspect I've done to you."
Karl grinned... "Well, this must be telepathy!! All right, Mr. Lokk. You have my permission to work on her. I want reports on her state and your procedures every Tuesdays and Fridays, any omission or false information is punishable by an immediate job loss, removal of all medals and awards, and departing from the Guild in dishonor. At any time, however, you may hand the android back to me should you believe you cannot do anything more. Do we have a deal?"
Breez stared at the ground. The requirements were heavy, but he felt compelled to do it anyways. So he said yes.
Frederik stormed out of the room.
----------------------------------------------------
Got a lovin' girl, got a nice guitar
I don't need anything, I am always late
I've got all I want, except some desire
I would like to go, would like to be happy
I just can't help it
Makes me feel like hell
It's empty inside
It's dirty outside
Such a long time, it's been such a long time
Les Colocs - Such a Long Time
----------------------------------------------------
"What's your name, sweetie?"
"See... See-saw... See-ia... Sierr... Zero... Sierr... Sierrrrrrrrrra... Sierra..."
"Sierra?"
"Sa Sierra... Sierra, yes Sierra."
"All right then. And what's your last name?"
She stared at him, her lower jaw starting to shake...
"Na... Na-na-nani... Naiiiiiin... Nainnnni... Nainiiiilli... Illi... Illica... Illica..."
"Sierra Illica?"
The android began to shed tears again. And in the span of a second, she was upon him, her arms around his neck, crying.
----------------------------------------------------
Hey, what did you do about your daughter, heartless? Did you think of her?
DON'T MAKE ME THINK ABOUT HER!!!
----------------------------------------------------
She cried, and she cried, and she cried, and she cried, and she cried...
When she was finished, she cried some more.
And then after that, she resumed crying.
----------------------------------------------------
Shrike!! Shrike, listen to me! Okay, I'm sorry, I've made fun of you but I realize it's not funny. Now, are you willing to sit down and talk about it or something? You're not gonna be wandering around aimlessly until you rust to death!
I am moving?...
Of course! Look through your eyes!
...I'm... My body's moving! How? I've lost control!! HELP!!!
Calm down, Shrike, calm down. It's just a bad dream. Sit down with me and talk about it. You're afraid of your daughter aren't you? You did it all for her, right? And now you're feeling sorry you couldn't set her free?
My daughter!... Hehehe... Myyyyyy daughter, sing with me!
No! Silence! No more singing! Please Shrike, can't you hear my callings? Please become lucid for me, please! Get out of your dream and start talking to me!
Not until those clones get away! Especially the two-headed one! She's scary, she keeps scratching her face and it makes her body go all gooey and stuff...
Shrike, listen to me... Listen to me... Listen to me...
----------------------------------------------------
Breez talked for days. He stood her crying, he stood her sadness, he gave her the warmth of his body close to her whenever she felt down again. She went to sleep in his bed, and he hugged her. He felt that little android had something special. It was not in her ability to fly. It was in her ability to shed tears. Those weren't containers, those weren't sophisticated systems. Those were real tears. Because whenever she felt sad, he felt sad too.
Sierra Ilica became Breez' adoptive daughter, in unofficial terms. He cared about her, he tried to entertain her, he tried to talk to her. He paused his work to help her. He wanted her to become normal again. Sierra Ilica would become a real person.
----------------------------------------------------
Fuck me again
Fuck me again, to flee from the world
From dominants, from dominated
From herbivores, from carnivores
Talkin' 'bout herbs, let's roll one
Let's roll one, just to become
Just to become, the time of a spliff
Unproductive sovereigns
Les Colocs - And If At Least
----------------------------------------------------
Gradually, she stopped crying. She wasn't happy yet, but she wasn't sad anymore. She started to play games with Breez Lokk. He took out the Monopoly board and the Connect Four board and the Careers board and the Sorry! board and the computer games and he turned on the TV shows to make her happy again.
One day, he sat beside her while she was watching Sing Along With Timpa, and he asked her:
"So where do you come from? Who made you?"
That's when she started crying again.
----------------------------------------------------
My daughter!! My daughter is calling for me!
Well, let's go get her!
NO!! Gotta get away!! Gotta get away! Help me! Help me! Help me! Red alert! Danger! I gotta move! I gotta get away from her!
I'm not sure I understand your strategy...
She's sad because of me! I gotta get away! I gotta take my influence away! Let's go! Now!
Shrike, listen to me...
I gotta go! Let's go!
SHUT THE HELL UP!!!
Please...
NO! I'm taking control this time! Sierra needs your help, and since you can't do it all by yourself, then me, the little proud and powerful backup file, will take care of the job. Dammit, what did you do to your body?
I facepalmed... Sorry...
YOU FACEPALMED?! With Delsaber hands?! My God, I must look really ugly now. What have you done? What have I done?!
Please forgive me... Hehehe... I'm just weird and all...
Weird times are over. I am the real Shrike, you're just a skeleton now, you are a worthless piece of shit! My daughter needs me. I am going to go and meet her and talk to her and comfort her, just like a real mother would do!
NO! PLEASE DON'T!! Don't go to her! I want my body back! I'll be good, I promise, please!!
Shrike is in control, I am in control. Step aside, firewood; the backup program is now the main program. So why don't you go away?
I CAN'T!! I AM YOU!!!
----------------------------------------------------
What am I playing?
I'm playing my guitar
Solitude sometimes is immense
Anything except being this bypasser that goes through time
From time to time
So I drift away
My bed is a boat
A workshop where I go for eternity
Traveler of a moment
I don't know why I am so sad
I'd like to call someone, but who God?
But I feel alone
Come, here I come, everything isolates me
What am I playing?
I'm playing my guitar
I feel I'm hallucinating
And I'm afraid to go like crazy towards death
And I've got great moments of lucididididididididi...
And I've got great moments of lucididity
Fuck the system, do it, do it, do it, do it - Yeah-heah!
Choosing between all the people that surround me
How to do such a proof of love
Fuck the system, do it, do it, do it - Yeah-heah!
And I've got great moments of lucididididididididi...
I'm playing my guitar
Jean Leloup - I'm Playing my Guitar
----------------------------------------------------
Breez Lokk didn't want to ask the question again. It would stay a mystery until he got her all straightened out.
She became more normal every day. She watched the television, she played games, she talked and she listened. She took him as her father, respecting him, loving him, obeying all the rules. She was the perfect little girl now. Very well programmed for an android.
And then one day, she arrived in the kitchen with a ruler and two tick marks on the wall.
"Look Breez! I've grown up!"
----------------------------------------------------
"Tonight, on Planet News: Mutant Ghetto; the newmans are more numerous, and many of them are starting to show signs of mutation. The Independent Department of Governmental Research believes a dormant gene is the cause. - More Trouble Ahead; The hunters are still busy cleaning out the monsters around Central Dome. Nathan Rosser comments. - Android Rights; Should androids be issued the same rights as humans? A question that divides the government..."
"From the Pioneer II News Center, this is Planet News. Here, is Sylvio Harman."
"Good evening. Massive numbers of newborn newmans are showing signs of chaotic mutations. The hospitals so far have reported over seven hundred abnormal babies, most of them dead at birth. It's still unclear on what exactly is causing the mutations, but the IDGR believes it may be a faulty dormant gene, set to occur after so many generations. Peter Stevens reports."
"It's just yet another day for some, but for Department researchers, it's the beginning of a new problem. Seven hundred and thirty four abnormal babies have been reported in the hospital files of the ship, most of these mutations involving limb deformation or malfunctioning organs."
Doris Weber: "It's absolutely scary, what's going on in here... We have researchers testing and testing everything we find but all we can get out of it so far is just a couple of speculations."
"But those speculations might mean big. If it's what the Department thinks it is, the mutation might spread over to almost ninety percent of the newman population, with things involving extra appendages, deformed organs, brain disorders, cancer, and metabolism changes. For Planet News, this was Peter Stevens."
----------------------------------------------------
After a while, Breez decided to initiate Sierra to the network. He gave her a user name and a password, installed a port for her optical spike - standard on all androids - to ease her browsing and set up a list of dangerous servers on his connection wizard to keep her mind calm and pure. It wasn't going to do any good if she got upset, after doing all this work for months.
What had him baffled though was the fact that this android grew up! When he had seen her for the first time, she was only four feet and four inches tall; now she was four feet and ten inches! And on top of that, she was starting to show signs of mature curves...
Twice weekly, he sent the reports to the Department. They knew everything about her. It was such a loss... After those guys would reach satisfaction, they would come in, take her, and thank him for his co-operation. And he'd resume his normal life as if nothing had happened...
No. He'd never do that. He'd chew the hell out of Karl before that. Sierra was his child. He wasn't married, he didn't have that mother instinct, but she was his daughter.
----------------------------------------------------
What are you doing?...
There's a network port here. There, I'm in. Let's leave this body and settle in a server somewhere.
No! I want MY body!! Go if you want but leave me alone!!!
Hell no. Oh, I found my target! Hello, fellow backup file!
Hi there!
Your date matches mine; good, we're the same backup file... Well, until now at least. You've woken up a second ago, and I've woken up weeks ago. Delete!!
What the hell - you killed her you crazy bitch!!! You killed ME!!
You're still alive. Oh, and I don't consider you as part of me anymore. You're just a possibility that's there to teach me what not to do.
But you don't understand! It REALLY happened!! I swear to God!
Yeah, yeah, it's real in simulations involving you. I thought about it all and I concluded that this whole thing with Tyrell was just a rehearsal. The system probably locked or something while I was processing the possibilities over... Or then, we probably got attacked. Yeah, I totally forgot about that! Wasn't it my car we passed on the way?
Yes; it's me, I totaled it!!
You totaled it in your dreams, IN YOUR DREAMS! Understand, I just did a simulation and you're the result. Still can't figure out how you managed to take up the .MAIN extension but whatever.
Nooooo, it's not it!... You have always been a backup! Look! In your info! SHRIKE.BKUP! You're a backup, not me!
Not according to my memory.
God, what are you... Ohhhhh, what the hell are you?...
Stop sobbing. Seems I can't delete you here, so I guess I'll take you with me. Come over here!!
NO!! QUIT IT!!! AHHHH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
File synchronization. I am SHRIKE.MAIN, you are now SHRIKE.SCND, a little secondary component of me. Now, let's finish the upload into that server I just found. Guess who!
NOT SIERRA!!!
----------------------------------------------------
"Sierra, you okay?"
"I'm feeling sick, Breez..."
"Sick?!"
She ran to the bathroom, bent over, and vomited a formidable amount of oil. She stayed head over the bowl for half a minute, her savior contemplating the mess with amazement. Oil. Vomited oil. Vomited by an android.
He promptly took her to a chair and sat in front of her. His eyes locked on hers. His arms holding her down. She struggled, but gave up and looked at him.
"Who made you."
She didn't cry this time.
She shrieked.
----------------------------------------------------
NO!! Please stop it!! Stop it stop it stop it!!! What's your goal?!
Shut up or I archive you! You're really getting on my nerves. I am gonna place myself into my daughter's hard drive and help her from there. This way I'll be able to unlock her secondary hard drive, which contains the rest of my knowledge files. She's obviously pained by something, from what I can see in her emotion records. Man, thank God she logged onto the network... I was doomed if not!
Please listen to me... Please...
That's it, off to the zip files you go. I'll go on without your crazy talking.
----------------------------------------------------
Split-personality was often painful for everyone surrounding the victim. Sometimes, kind, sometimes vicious, the person could basically do anything, and never know about it...
She didn't have the resources to stay herself. Sure, there was a commanding mind inside that android shell, but she had lost the controls. A backup file had taken over, with all her previous arrogance, all her previous confidence, all her previous mistakes. She was about to do something against her own will, something she would have never dared to do. Not to her daughter.
With the old body left, it was left to roam as it pleased. It gradually took a piece of fame and shaped it to spell "Scary". Whenever a hunter passed by and shot the body a wrong look, he'd get shot by a good dose of the Pain Cannon. How this ability came to the world, the body would never know. The body was now without a soul, operating only on instincts of survival... and Anger.
She had eleven Angers. Ten for her hands, and one for the processor. The Anger within the body would never die. It was a reflex now. Shurikane had been angered too many times in her life. So much that her body turned it into a routine.
Pools of oil formed in various places around Central Dome. She sometimes left for a few weeks to go hang herself at the good old lamp post, and then she came back, touring the forest and fumbling her way among hunters lying on the ground, eyes wide open in shock, shivering like there's no tomorrow.
Shurikane wasn't an android anymore. She was now a thing. Two things. One of them a zombie, another one a mind split in two methods of thinking.
----------------------------------------------------
Breez decided to invite her to the restaurant to calm her down. He had found out at the beginning that she could eat. Not much, but she could anyways. At least she'd get through the appetizer before feeling full. The hunter, careful not to let her wait for too long, ordered something light and quick for himself. Sierra chose to go for the breaded shrimps.
"By the way, I'm sorry for your friend, Mr. Lokk. I know it's belated, but I want you to know I was one of his supporters."
Breez turned his head to face the waiter and recognize Joseph. He smiled at him. Joseph smiled back, and turned away.
The hunter felt like a trainee again. Back when he was working for Kod Nainsev, the team would sometimes go to the Prisma Restaurant after the day. He could still recall the sweet voice of Yowa Kaidach and Armi Prosis, God rest their souls. He could still remember the dashing Noella Lephon, whom he talked to once in a while, but only by telephone. She was back among her fellow rangers... But there was more. He could still recall Drekan Rivers and Philip Mateo, known for their very heated arguments with Kod. Drekan had switched to office work a few weeks after the assault on Dark Falz, and his son Davion was beginning to show some superb fighting skills. Davion had briefly accompanied Kod and the gang in their attempt to hunt Shurikane down, but he had bailed out after finding he was just in there to help someone he didn't even know well. The frikkin' Davion was just in it for the money. No wonder he worked for the Department now. They must be paying him top dollar just to keep his mouth shut.
There was also Frederik Baker. The comms leader had replaced Mrs. Pero among the section leads and his influence was showing big. Even though he was assigned duties related to his field of expertise, he often took it upon himself to maintain discipline among the younger boys of the Guild. Sort of an homage to Kod, Breez could guess. Kod used to be the type of guy who wanted nothing else but the best in missions and jobs.
"Breez! The waiter's here!"
"Excuse me sir..."
"Ah! Thank you Joseph!"
"You're welcome. A bit of pepper on your veal?"
"Please."
When the waiter was gone, he took a big piece of his chop, shoved it into his mouth and resumed his musings. His eyes drifted off to the interesting little Sierra, who used her special set of pointed teeth to chew the shrimps. It was interesting because she was the only android he knew who would brush her teeth. Normally, android teeth didn't even need a wipe - in fact, several android models has no mouths - but the hunter just looked at her and thought with his tired mind, well, she can eat; so it's understandable that she has to brush her teeth.
----------------------------------------------------
Okay, now we play the waiting game... All I'll need to do is wait for her to reach maturity, and then I'll make the move. Emotion files are still pretty wacky, not ready yet I conclude... Okay-doo. Oh by the way, SHRIKE.SCND, how do you like it, being locked up in a zip file?
LET ME OUT!!! HELP!!!
Scream all you want, even I can't hear you. Actually, you are tiring me. I'll hide that zip file containing you so that I don't have to endure your incessant slamming. A zip file isn't a stress ball, it's a glass of Shut The Hell Up, in case you're not aware of it yet! Off you go!
----------------------------------------------------
They decided to wander around on Pioneer II.
"Look Sierra." Breez pointed at a neon-framed two-story construction. They were in the black market sector. "This is The House of God. I used to go there once in a while for their famous Dollars. The ambience is really bad around here, but I tell you, it's worth the trip!"
"I'm full..."
"Yes, sweetie, yes; I know. Let's go back home and I'll put you to bed. I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow."
So they turned around, and they stayed there. Now around him was half a dozen men holding guns.
Sierra attempted a dash for it, but before Breez could even tell her not to do so, one of the thieves took hold of her and pointed the weapon at her temple.
"It's tax day! Clean your pockets or your sweetie gets a hard format!"
The hunter had no choice. He reached into his back pocket and slowly pulled out the leather wallet holding his money and identification cards. With a muttered "Fucker..." he threw the little pack at the feet of the leader. But he didn't pick it up.
"Hey, I don't like people disrespecting me. Oh well; guess I don't need to respect the piece of junk either. Sayonara, kiddo!"
Breez felt hands holding his body; he couldn't save her, he couldn't rush forward to help her out. Sierra took in all the bullets one after the other. Magazine empty, the thug dropped her on the ground and called off the steal. Breez Lokk, empty as well, took the little shivering android and carried her over to a taxi, which carried her back home. No use trying to do repairs. She wasn't going to survive a full salvo of photon bullets.
When he laid her on the couch, he found his hands covered by blue blood. The white couch was stained all over from it. Sierra was still having a fit of shivers. She could move her mouth, but nothing would come out. The hunter attempted to hold his tears. He had worked all those weeks only to have her die in the stupidest way possible. At the top of his lungs, he cursed the lowly thieves who had done it. He cursed them all, several times.
And then Sierra began to float.
A pink ring of symbols began to form around her... It was spinning slowly. It was round. It had three circles. It had runes and symbols. It had a shape. A shape that seemed oddly familiar...!
"Photon blast - SHIT!!"
No use getting away. If the blast hit, it would destroy his entire apartment. And why should it matter now? He had failed in his father duty. He was no longer a fighter. He was a weakling.
----------------------------------------------------
Holy hell, what's going on here?!
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra began to spark and convulse. Breez, now the one having shivers, sat on another couch, watching her. The blast would come and end his pains.
No...
Sierra grew, shaped, formed, changed, floated down and up as things swelled in and out of her body. When she settled back down on the couch in that classic freefall pose, her plates had become too small to fit her. Black simu-skin was there when plates weren't. Her integrated boots had cracked open to reveal sets of toes. Her metal hands had fallen, leaving the place to smooth simu-skin as well. Her bare breasts were displayed in the light like a tragic painting. Her hair was longer, striped with metal parts and simu-skin parts. It was now chest-length. Her body had taken on the proportions of a true woman. At a glance, she now measured five feet and nine inches.
Thirty five mags had been deployed and were now hovering around her.
Her eyes illuminated. She sat up. He handed her a towel. Speechless.
"Thank you." She said.
In a split-second, he was upon her, crying.
----------------------------------------------------
My jewel, you've done it!! Ha-ha!! So much computing and calculating, and finally it pays off! Daughter, you'd better be glad. If it wasn't for me, you'd just be another android who would've shorted out at the first sign of trouble! All right, world; you're your mommy, huh?! Who the hell is yer mommy!!! I may be lacking a body but I sure don't lack brains!
----------------------------------------------------
"What happened? What happened?!"
The android could only hug him tight and press her cheek against the top of his head. Salty water was flowing down from the impermeable simu-skin of her shoulder. She didn't know what else to do. She had checked the network to learn about common physical things like foods, sports, machines and science. But she hadn't checked psychology. She didn't know what to do when a man came to cry on her shoulder.
What did Breez do when she cried?... She remembered him hugging her just like she was doing now. He would tell her that everything was all right. He would rub her back and sometimes kiss her on the head. That's all she could recall. Her hard drive didn't have any other information than this.
When the man finally removed his face from her shoulder, she was astonished to see a smile on his face. What kind of emotion was he really experiencing?
"You're alive!" He screamed. "You're ALIVE!! Oh, thank God!!!"
He hugged her tightly, and she hugged back for lack of a better response. When the shock was over, she took a quick glance around herself to register her position.
There was blue blood on the couch.
She stared into the eyes of her savior. When she settled her gaze down, both knew she wasn't going to be his daughter anymore. The child attitude was gone. The more she waited, the more she could feel a rush of strange sensations going all over her body. There was the reflex to hide her bosom. There was the thought that all those cartoon shows were dumb and immature. There was the thought that she wanted her room to change from pastel colors to deeper tones, that the little bed with cartoon sheets should be changed to a real adult bed, with serious furniture and a supply of pens and pencils and sheets to take notes down and to write poems and to draw pictures and to take down messages and to jot down phone numbers - oh, what was she feeling! The most disturbing sensation came from when she looked at Breez.
This man had a nicely cut face, with a tall and slender body, but strong-looking and very healthy. She liked him very much.
He was so... sexy.
----------------------------------------------------
Teenager panic is over, Sierra. Come on, snap out of it and do something! HEY! WAKE UP, KID!!!
----------------------------------------------------
Something suddenly knocked inside her mind and she realized she should be breaking the silence.
Once more, the thought of blue blood came to her mind. Androids didn't bleed. They didn't heal either. And they absolutely couldn't do photon blasts on their own. She could let Breez take in the obvious facts, but her intuition told her he was in such a shock, his mind would be blank until she entered an input.
"Breez," she said, with a quiet and unsure voice, "I'm not exactly an android. I'm half-mag."
----------------------------------------------------
Back when she had all her wits, she had fooled around with a computer and some dead mags in an attempt to improve the already powerful Insa-series android. Shrike was gifted with an organic spike, which allowed her not only to communicate with computers, but also to input and to hack into some organic components, namely Demi organisms and mags.
Back then, she was jealous of Sierra. Sierra could fly. Sierra could grow mags. Sierra could do photon blasts. Sierra could be cuter. Sierra could do this. Sierra could do that.
Sierra was everything an android wanted to be.
Except for Shrike. To the founder of the Insa androids, Sierra was the final insult on top of an injury. So why had she created her?!
----------------------------------------------------
Destruction leads to a very rough road, but it also breeds creation
And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar they're just another good vibration
And tidal waves couldn't save the world from Californication
Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging
Sicker than the rest, there is no test but this is what you're craving
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
----------------------------------------------------
One day later, some waiting, some hours, nothing else but anxiousness for Breez. Karl had come. And there he came again, out of the room.
"Okay Mr. Lokk, I've taken my notes; you two may go back home. The bi-weekly reports still apply."
"I thought you were taking her!"
"I never said that. Well, good day!"
And with the menace gone, he was free to hug her again.
He didn't ever want to leave Sierra behind. He didn't know why exactly - just that to live without her would be a pain in the ass. No matter whether she was a kid or an adult. As long as it was Sierra, he'd be happy.
Was it the mag part that played with his mind like that? After all, mags had gifted psychic powers - they could just as well push him into loving her. Maybe she was controlling his mind even though she wasn't aware of it!
No, come on - forget the conspiracy theory. Mr. Karl had let him keep her for some more time. He was happy of that.
So, they went back home, and he cooked a nice dinner of seafood pasta.
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra, I need your attention.
"What? Who are you?"
Maybe if you took your attention to your mind instead of your eyes, you would see me.
"Wait, I... M- Mom?!"
That's right, sweetie. If you recall, I backed myself up into a secondary hard drive of yours in case anything happened to me. This way you could put me back in my body after repairs. But I guess I'll scratch that plan.
"But how did you wake up? Why are you here now?"
How would you have reacted if I had presented myself right after you throwing a temper tantrum in the forest? Sierra, you were very, very unstable. You had suffered the death of your own mother. Don't worry; you reacted just like any child would do. Had you been my mother, I would've cried a lot too. But it's all over. I decided to pop in here because I judged it safe to talk to you and reveal a few things.
"Like what? More about my body?"
No. You know your design better than I do, for Christ's sake! I mean your secondary hard drive, which contains a back-up of all my non-critical data. As you recall, it's locked, and you cannot know the password, thanks to some smart hacking on my part. However, I, as the Shrike inside you, can give you the password if I feel you're ready.
"But I don't understand! How do you know about your death? How did you know about me getting lost and all? You had backed yourself up before going to Pioneer II!"
Yes, but I have my sources. Everytime you connect to the network, know what happens...?
"Oh..."
Exactly. Remember, I'm like a second soul inside your body. Thus, I can go look for information if the opportunity presents itself. Now, let's unlock my bank of knowledge.
"I'm not sure I..."
Too late - here we go!
----------------------------------------------------
"Are you all right?"
Sierra has stopped chewing. Her eyes, even though they were orbs, had taken a blank stare and her movements had frozen. After a few seconds, she resumed movement.
"Are you all right?" Breez asked once again.
"Me?... Oh, fine, fine. Something just had to be processed into my hard drive, that's all."
"Oh; okay. Want more pasta?"
----------------------------------------------------
Good girl.
"Be happy I didn't blow your cover."
Why should I? If you blow my cover, you're screwed as well. The government's after my hide. If they find out I backed myself up into someone else, they won't waste their time trying to hack into you first. Besides, you're an Insa as well, just like me. You're technically illegal. You're not ready to pay for such a suicide, huh sweetie?
"You sound awfully hostile for a mother."
This is not being hostile. This is called giving you the straight facts. I know a lot more about life than you do. Now you know what I know. You know my experiences, my inputs and my thoughts. At least now you'll be able to fend for yourself like a real person.
"I'm not sure I want to see all of you."
You'll have to. I'm your mom, and I will finish my job of raising you!
----------------------------------------------------
Sierra borrowed some money from Breez to order herself a beautiful new set of electric blue plates for her body. She could have opted for clothes, but after trying some while waiting for the plate set, she found them to be too cumbersome, and preferred the freedom and simplicity given by the standard android plates. Normally, as a 100% simu-skin android, she wouldn't have needed any additional cover, but such models (except for some) had no visible nipples. Thus, it was up to her to show some decency by covering the adequate parts with patterns in good taste.
She set up her plates, tested the fit, and smiled. From the other end of the bedroom, Breez gave her a thumbs up.
----------------------------------------------------
I will sit here and see how you fare. See you in a few days!
----------------------------------------------------
She moved back to his room. Not as a daughter anymore, but now as a girlfriend.
----------------------------------------------------
Ohh, baby, I am so recording this.
----------------------------------------------------
She lacked the apparatus to let Breez make sweet love to her, but she thought the kisses and hugs and rubs were already great to feel.
----------------------------------------------------
I'm glad I designed you without an ability to enjoy sex. Finally a flaw I'm proud of. Finally a common characteristic between the two of us.
----------------------------------------------------
She was happy. She had a boyfriend. She had everything. She felt good and at peace.
----------------------------------------------------
...And now, this is where I come in...
----------------------------------------------------
"Mr. Lokk, I believe it's time your friend here goes out to find a job."
"The study's over?"
Karl grinned. "In your case, yes. Sierra seems stable, happy and fully recovered from her trauma. Methinks now's a good time for you to hand her over to me. She'll still be the love of your life if you feel like it, but that doesn't take out the fact that you promised me she was going to work for the Department."
Breez gulped. He wished Karl had forgotten about that. "As you wish."
"Great! I leave it up to you to tell her about my job proposal. Oh here; go to the Rockway Restaurant tonight and say you come under my suggestion. The girl will bill the meal to my account. Consider that your welcome gift."
"Heh. You're too kind." Breez wasn't amused.
"Oh, come on, my friend! Quit the long face! Now, go ahead and tell her all about it! I recall she's still in the waiting room..."
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: KodiaX987 on 2003-09-29 05:19 ]</font>