Carpathia IV: Episode 215 - Soufflé
Engineering Lab, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Transfer day, and the engineering lab was full. Alka stood between the two tables hosting new Phobos and new Deimos. Little Phobos sat on a table in the middle while Artemis plugged leads into the back of his head, connections between him and the two new bodies. Artemis did not have an easy time with this, as making the connections into Phobos's twitching head next to impossible, even with Cyn's help. There was one more cable besides those, a sort of sucker cup, that would eventually be stuck to Alka's forehead.
Alka: It's almost time. Usually this sort of thing takes an hour or two. There will be a lot of chaos, especially at the beginning. Those of you monitoring the transfer will see a lot of back and forth of the data as we work out where everything goes and the medical team will see that my brain activity is a mess. It's all normal. Once we start, we can't stop. Suddenly pulling the plug would damage all three of us, but medical intervention is okay if, say, my heart rate gets too elevated.
Sorchae nodded and gave Darius's shoulder a pat.
Sorchae: We'll be watching carefully.
Alka: Are you absolutely sure we can't make a backup of their programs?
Minnie: We've tried, but we've never been able to build a storage device that can handle the dynamism of their matrix. It's the same reason why we haven't been able to build a body for Deimos until now.
Alka: If we only had more time, we could have built an extra storage unit. I wish they were compatible with our own systems, but I'm very satisfied with this custom job we've done here.
Artemis got the final connection into Phobos's head and, with a nod, handed the sucker cup to Alka.
Alka: Looks like we're ready. My chair, please.
A pair of hotoh started pushing a chair behind Alka. A large sort of chair, with aggressive side bolsters, leg holders, and a headrest designed more as a cradle than a resting place. When it was in position, Alka wriggled his way into it's enveloping embrace. While Alka got comfy, Cyn brought him the sucker cup.
Cyn: We'll put this on now and do a quick test to make sure it's working.
Cyn attached the cup to Alka's head and stepped back to the machine controls.
Alka: That's it, then. Anyone who isn't engineering or medical should go.
Those not on that list nodded, Adell most solemnly. He kneeled to the ground and took Phobos's little hand in his.
Phobos: I... I... I... I... l... l... love you, d... d... d... d... daddy.
Adell: Phobos, Deimos. Hang in there. I'll be right outside. I love you too.
Phobos: It w... w... w... w... w... w... was a... a... a... a... a... life worth l... l... l... l... l... l... living.
Adell: Take care of them, Artemis.
Artemis: I won't take my eyes off them.
With a kiss on Phobos's little cheek and a little more for Artemis, Adell plodded out of the engineering lab to join the others. On the other side of the door, he found himself surrounded by many crew from Shadowdancer, Sentinel, and the hotoh ship.
Aire: Can I get you anything, Commodore?
Adell: For now, a chair and a view of the stars will suffice.
Inside Phobos
Alka opened his eyes, a little curious and a little scared. He knew the scene he would encounter would be different—it was different every time—but being inside of an entirely foreign AI would have to be something almost unrecognizable. A quick look around revealed a strange environment indeed. A shiny black floor with neon blue and green circuitry running through it. Most AI took on a somewhat familiar environment. A natural scene or something representative of where they lived or worked. This one looked more like a literal fabrication of the inside of an android brain.
Except for one part.
Off to the side was a colorful cut-out room, looking like someone sliced it right out of a building, minus two of the walls, and stuck it there. Unlike the glossy black floor he stood upon now, this room was adorned with a shiny tan material stamped with a repeating pattern. The walls, the two that were left, were tiles, shades of grey and yellow in repeating patterns. Around this were all sorts of machinery. One was a massive, rectangular box. Another was a strange object with some sort of door on the lower portion, spiral things on the top, a little over waist-high, and a hood hanging over all of it. One object that he did recognize was a sink. Alka guessed that this design must be fairly universal, though their own sinks had three taps rather than the two on this one. In the center of this room was a table lined with chairs, one on each end and two on each of the sides.
It was a place screaming out for him to go there. Phobos or Deimos would surely show up, though he didn't know which. With some trepidation, Alka stepped to the table and took a seat.
Deimos: Oh, hello there! It's been a long time since I've had a guest.
Alka turned with a start, finding a green-haired girl casually strolling up behind him. Unquestionably, from the images he'd seen, Deimos. Surprisingly, however, in a form as tall as he, not the mini body that he understood had been the same size as Phobos.
Alka: Oh! Well, hello there. Deimos, is it?
Deimos: That's right! And you're Alka. I think my soufflé is done. Care for some?
Alka: I'm sorry to say that I don't know what that is, but I think I can give it a try.
Deimos: Good!
Deimos flipped down the door of the contraption with the spiral things on top and pulled out a ramekin with some sort of fluffy, bread-like substance overflowing over the top. After placing the ramekin on a plate, she served it to Alka, pretty on the red and white checkered placemat, along with a small, three-pronged fork.
It looked like one of the cakes that Alka had seen and tried before on the Shadowdancer. He picked up the fork and took a bite.
Alka: It's good!
Deimos: Yay!
Alka took another bite while Deimos sat at the other end with her elbows on the table watching Alka intently.
Alka: You're not having any?
Deimos frowned and looked away.
Deimos: I can't eat.
Alka responded with a slow nod. Something he'd heard before.
Alka: I understand you've been here awhile.
Deimos: Mmm... Kind of 18 years? I transferred myself into Phobos then. It was logical. Since I was the more advanced model, I was the most likely to succeed in the mission. At first, he and I were one, but over time, we started to have our own separate identities. I couldn't tell you exactly when I started feeling like myself.
Alka: An observation. Not entirely logical, was it? Adell told me of that incident when you destroyed the portal generator. The purely logical course would have been for both of you to go to increase odds of success.
Deimos: Well... one of us had to stay. We couldn't leave the daddies without either of us.
Alka: Risky, but that was very kind of you.
Form somewhere outside of the kitchen, out in the cyber mindscape, Alka heard cheerful noises, much like a child playing. He turned to see a dream-like image of Adell and Artemis. From a distance, Phobos ran towards them, arms outstretched, giggling like a little boy. Deimos watched, mesmerized, while Alka devoted his eyes to each of them in turn. He couldn't be sure what Deimos was thinking, but one thing he was sure of... it must be complicated.
Deimos: That's so sweet. I'm so happy that Phobos is happy.
Skepticism was Alka's first thought, though he didn't think Deimos's words were untrue. There was more, whether she realized it or not.
Alka: They do look happy. Is this what you see living inside Phobos?
Deimos: No, it looks different to me. That's how I imagine it.
Deimos's voice gradually became quieter as she spoke until her last sentence was nearly inaudible. Then she was silent for awhile.
Alka: And how do you feel about that?
Deimos did not answer, continuing to watch Phobos interact with her parents. Alka did not mind. He could wait and he knew that she heard him. AI don't just forget what they hear or get so distracted that they don't hear. His words are in her somewhere.
Deimos: Do they see me too, or just him?
Alka: From what I've seen, they do care about you.
Deimos: It's not fair. I want to be touched and held and cuddled. If I had known then that my life would be like this, drifting around in an inky void without any possibility of feeling a loving hand upon my face, I think I probably wouldn't have transferred myself into Phobos back then.
Alka: Well, I'm here now.
For the first time since Phobos appeared, Deimos ripped her eyes away from him and to Alka as she rose from her chair. Slowly, she made her way toward him and then fell into his arms.
Deimos: I wish I knew how to cry.
Alka: That's okay. Just feel as you do.
Engineeering Lab, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Ramei: Alka wasn't kidding when he said the data would look like chaos at first. Look at it go.
Artemis: You're right about that. It's zinging so fast back and forth between them, I don't know what's what.
Minnie: How is Alka doing, Doctor?
Sorchae: Only minor fluctuations in his heartbeat. Body chemistry is on the upper end of normal, but still normal.
Artemis: All we can do is wait and watch. I hope he really does know what he's doing.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
