Planet Earth, Year 1 A.I. (September 2023 C.E., 5 months after System Integration.)
“What a strange dream,” Chloe says as she stands back up and shakes her head about.
Soti after the visions hit my mory— and Chloe’s too, from the looks of things, the two of us collapsed onto the laboratory floor. Fortunately, we’re both way too durable to be seriously hurt by sothing so banal as passing out and hitting our head on the tal floor. As I observe the surroundings, I notice that I took all of forty damage from the impact and left a small crater in the ground where my skull touched down onto the cold steel below.
“You had that vision too?” I ask.
“I was there,” Chloe says. “I an, not exactly. I’m guessing that when you have those visions of her life, that you view them as though they were actually your mories? That you, yourself lived those experiences?”
I nod.
“So let guess: for this one, you saw it from afar, like you were watching it in a security feed?”
Again I nod. “And you saw it from Madison’s perspective? As though it was actually you there, talking with Dr. Chotono?”
Chloe’s eyes close and tears again start to leak down her cheek. “I guess that’s proof that I really am her… I guess I’m not sure if I’m her clone or her daughter or what, but–”
I walk up to Chloe and wrap both arms around her, nuzzling her face into my chest and wrapping both my wings around her for as much comfort and protection as I can give. We stay like this for a good minute, neither of us saying or needing to say anything beyond just simple gestures of love and affection. Only once her mood has stabilized do I reiterate what I’ve told her since the first ti Hank told her about her origins.
“You are you, Chloe. Regardless of mories or data, your life is yours, not your father’s, not Madison’s. Whatever we do, we do together, as partners, and we do what we feel is best, not what anyone else decides for us.”
“Thanks, Sera,” she says through sniffles.
Just as she does, the door opens, revealing Hank and Leece, both in hastily thrown together nightwear. At least the two of them managed to reconnect a little bit after everything that’s gone down these past few months. Just a few months, I guess. Feels like this System stuff has been going on almost my entire life, even though the mories of the old world are right there, waiting to be rembered. Then again, do I even want to rember them?
“Are you two okay?” Hank asks.
“Did sothing happen to the two of you?” Mom asks. “Do you need to get you so dicine or bandages or–” Mom looks down at the floor, then up at us and how the two of us are still embracing within my wings. “Sorry, you two. I know that you’re a healer and a real strong one to boot, but I’m still always going to see Chloe as my baby girl who I need to protect. You too, Sera.”
Chloe and I both end up blushing at that, but neither of us says a word in our defense until a three-second long awkward pause forces Hank to interject.
“So, Chloe, Sera. I take it from the spots on the floor that you discovered sothing? Hopefully sothing less unpleasant than a sudden proclivity for narcoleptic episodes.”
“A vision,” Chloe says. “Of the other world. I think we both had the sa one.”
“Are you two okay?” Mom asks. “Nothing wrong? No headaches or anything?”
“We’re fine,” I say. “No substantial damage, no abnormalities in our [Status]. At least that goes for ; Chloe told the sa before you two got here.”
She nods in affirmation.
“Well, that’s good,” Mom says. “Just make sure you’re both taking care of yourselves. Sera, please–” She pauses. “Um, Chloe, please keep an eye on Sera and make sure she doesn’t go rushing headlong into danger.”
“I only promise to try,” Chloe says. “And we might not be able to avoid it, but we’ll avoid unnecessary danger as much as possible.”
“If it’s alright with both of you,” I say. “I think we’re gonna turn in early tonight. It’s been a long day, I have a lot on my mind, and it sounds like Labor Day Monday is going to be a lot more labor and a lot less holiday than usual.”
“Alright, then,” Hank says. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”
“See you both in the morning, girls,” Mom adds.
“I think I understand Dad a little bit better now,” Chloe says as the two of us nestle together in bed. “Why he was so adamant about why he did what he did.”
“I’m guessing you felt sothing when you were living through Madison’s mories.”
Chloe clutches a bit tighter. “Fear, Sera. I felt earth-shattering, cosmos-rending fear. This was a woman with more power than I can wrap my head around. Soone who could turn the planet to ash in an afternoon if she wanted to. And yet, faced with the reality of the System and the impending annihilation, I could sense she was struggling to hold herself together. Constantly checking and re-checking, hoping and pleading that sothing was wrong with the data or an experintal parater was inconsistent with what she knew to be true, all desperately seeking sothing that would say that she was wrong. That the world wasn’t going to end like her predictions said it would.”
“And as we know now, that was all true. Their world really did end. And ours is slated for the sa trajectory.”
“Whatever happened to ‘your life is your choice’ and ‘we don’t have to live the lives that Madison and the other Seraphina lived’? Are you changing your tune?”
I kiss Chloe. “No, love. If you want to follow a different path, then we follow a different path. I think your father gave us this data not because he demanded we carry out his mission, but because he wanted to give us the option.”
“But you want to, Sera.”
“I do. And I know you do too, for a different, and far less selfish reason.” I kiss her again. “I want to do this because the idea of being ruled over by the System and having my life dictated by its whims disgusts . You, on the other hand, are a compassionate woman. I don’t believe that you can stomach the idea that people might die and you chose not to do anything to help.”
“You know so well, Sera. But, you’re right.” She pauses for a mont. “You know, Sera. You sound a lot like Madison.”
“How so?”
“About how she ‘didn’t want to get involved in politics’ but ended up getting forced into the position. Heck, I think she even referred to the politicians as, and I quote, ‘dumb chucklefucks’.”
“Hah! Well, it’s nothing I haven’t thought the sa. No offense ant by this, but like mother, like daughter, I suppose. I’d say that I may have gotten that from her, but let’s be real. We both know I got my distaste of all things political from the news.”
“Point conceded. Although, if Madison is sothing of your mother, then perhaps that Martin Chotono guy is sothing akin to your father? You did pull a fine bit of politicking just a mont ago, telling that I’d want to keep on fighting against the System, and for my own reasons.”
“Maybe. Though, I don’t think the two of them were ever romantically involved, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You sure? They certainly sounded like an old, married, constantly-bickering couple.”
“Nah. From everything I know of Madison, she was fully in the camp of ‘married to the job’. Seems like she spent decades as a delver and soldier… special agent, from the sound of it, then retired from military work and jumped right into a new career as a researcher shortly before her hundredth birthday.”
“She started that just before her hundredth birthday? I hope I’ll look that good when I’m a hundred and twenty-five!”
“Don’t we both know it!” We both giggle. Another kiss follows, because why not?
“So, anyway, I think I’m going to actually try to go to sleep early tonight. If you want to read around Dad’s notes, you’re welco to them.”
“Nah,” I say. “It’s been a long enough day as it is.” A yawn follows here in the dim light of the single [Light] glyph on the ceiling which I deactivate with but a touch. “Good night, love.”
“Good night, love,” Chloe responds.
Here in the underground, it’s not so easy to tell when morning actually arrives, short of relying on our phones to keep ti. No windows, no artificial lights. Hank probably could have installed sothing to automatically brighten the room in accordance with the sunrise, but why would he, especially when even small amounts of light will start to build up his toxicity to the stuff.
In keeping with general norms whereby people generally ask about or reveal the specifics of their character sheet, Skills, stats, and so forth, I never did ask Hank for the details of exactly how his [Light Toxicity] functions. Nor do I know exactly how much light he can tolerate before deleterious effects. At Chloe’s and Alicia’s insistence, though, he gave us an abridged version of his class’s major detrint.
The short version is that most mundane artificial lights do next to nothing to build his toxicity. Direct sunlight will, though as long as he’s well-rested and can maintain a thin cloak of shadow around his body, he can be out and about, though with so discomfort. It’s magical light— including that found in dungeons— that causes the real problems for him. Most especially, the acute sort of light that cos from attacks with the [Light] elental properties will shred through his defenses and reduce him to the state he was by the end of the Ancient Lake.
He claims to be feeling much better after a full night’s sleep. He claims that he’s feeling well enough to be out and about in the sunlight on this Monday morning. And he claims that his new [Inferniron Circlet] will better shield him from the effects of [Light Toxicity]. I don’t fully believe him, and I’m not sure Mom or Chloe do either.
However, I can’t deny his words either. We do have a second date with Renault in less than three weeks, he probably isn’t going to just let us go all willy-nilly this ti around, and we do need better equipnt if we are going to fight against him and whatever other forces he’s brought to bear.
And even that’s not going to be enough. Really, I hope for all our sakes that Hank has so more allies around here sowhere, preferably those that haven’t gone galomaniacal or otherwise. I’d ask Nicholas or Clara, but I think I’ve burned the latter bridge and I’m not sure Nicholas would offer his assistance even though… Good heavens, am I sympathizing with politicians again? That’s twice in not even two weeks! Just how far have I been debased?
“Do you want to co with?” Hank asks Mom as we’re finishing up our preparations for our shopping excursion. “I figure it might be a lot more enjoyable than simply waiting around in the lab reading books and playing spider solitaire on the computer for the next several hours.”
“No fighting?” she asks.
“I can’t promise that,” Hank says. “None of us plan to start any trouble, but trouble seems to have a way of coming for us. All three of us.”
“In other words,” Mom says. “Business as usual. I guess trying to stay out of it isn’t going to work anymore, now is it?”
“Unfortunately,” I say. “If I may be direct, it’d probably be safer for you with us than it would be to hole up in the lab. Hank has done plenty to keep the base isolated and hidden from enemy attacks, but we have been active these past couple of days. There’s always the chance that we’ve been surveilled via orbital or high-altitude satellites.”
“And besides,” Chloe says. “You’ll be defended by three incredibly strong people, not to ntion my healing magic.”
“Alright, alright,” she says after a couple seconds. “You made your point. Now, let get dressed real quick, and then we can all be off. But rember, no fighting, except in actual self-defense.”
“We promise,” all three of us say. Even if I don’t believe the day will be nearly as banal as Mom hopes.
User Comments
0 comments from readers