by Juno Wells
“Don’t you dare lie there with no explanation for me!” Flora was saying, dabbing at the solution which was now foaming on my skin. “If I’ve got to be the one to patch you up, you’ve got to at least tell me why. Or I’m knocking you out right now and taking you straight to your father!”
My eyes snapped open. “Flora, for once, can you wait to talk to me until you’re done hurting me?”
“Oh, hurting you am I?!” she shrieked, dumping more of the foaming liquid onto me. I yelled, gripping the sides of the gurney so hard, I thought I might break it.
“You are the most inconsiderate little prick I’ve ever had to mend up, you know that?! You whisk me off-world for your little escapade to find true love, and here we are, stealing from gangsters and mobsters and any other kind of illegal-sters and getting shot at and killed, and you can’t even give me the reprieve of knowing what the hell this is for! Are you still on your noble quest, or did you get lost in gambling and fighting scum?!” And with an almighty huff, she threw down her rag and stomped away down the metal-floored hall.
I lay there, confused, in physical and emotional pain. I needed to get Aurora back. I needed to figure out what had happened to her. Even if I found her and she indeed wanted nothing more to do with me, I still had to try. I couldn’t let it go, let her go.
ϔ ϔ ϔ ϔ ϔ
Flora didn’t come to see me for a few days. She stayed in her room, where she grew her own food, and if she ever came out to stretch her legs, she ignored me completely, giving the ceiling the dirtiest look I’d ever seen on her face. I knew she was upset and really didn’t want me to die or show up with my face blasted off.
Not to mention, if those things happened, my father would be very unhappy with her. Not sure if he’d fire her, arrest her or kill her. It didn’t matter; any of those already made me feel guilty. I pushed away the heavily icky feeling weighing on my chest, looking for a blank unfeeling emotion that I could wear until I figured out what to do next, an emotionless state where I didn’t have to feel the hurt and confusion.
I sat in the control room of my ship, a couple cords hooked up to my arm, running systems checks on my electronics, all the while tapping my fingers on the computer tablet on the dashboard. Well…where did one start when one didn’t have any answers?
I typed in cryo-sleep into the search bar.
An advertisement popped up as the first thing, showing a cryo-sleep company that was selling completely high-tech and luxury cryo-sleep chambers. Then a site that sold them in bulk to cruise lines that took you across the galaxy, flying in cryo-sleep so you wouldn’t age. Then a site that damned cryo-chambers and so on. Finally I found what I wanted. An encyclopedia site, the page all about cryo-sleep pods, their history, various types, studies on them, their basic function and yes, side effects and concerns.
While cryo-sleep is widely used and considered the most effective way to travel long-distance without having travel time affect your physical form, or merely to forfeit the world you live in today for the one you’ll wake up in tomorrow, studies have shown that extended cryo-sleep has shown marked side effects and changes to one’s person, which should be taken into consideration and known.
Listed:
Hair coloration change or pigment loss
Weight loss (not drastic)
Disorientation when you awaken (not lasting)
Heaviness or soreness upon reusing the body
Care should be taken to ensure your waking up procedure is properly monitored and supervised, so you have the best experience and smooth transition back to reality.
Okay…not quite what I was looking for…wait! Here was something, under the experimental and further scientific research.
Dr. Ptlokmotkoi of the University of Khathrak has experimented with the use of cryo-sleep extensively, hoping to push its use even further. He quotes here about that study, “Yes, well, we started with a simple game, you know, nothing fancy. An analog version of ping pong on the computer while our volunteer was hooked into cryo-sleep. Well it took a few games and a little coaching, but he played! No controls at all, just hooked right up to the CPU and monitor with special wires they use usually in medical studies on the brain.”
I skipped ahead a bit, passing over his rambling of how he discovered it and so forth until he told me what I wanted to know.
“However, we haven’t quite, uh, worked out all the kinks of the process yet. Our volunteer, upon being let out of cryo-sleep after his computer hook up, was considerably disorientated and seemed to experience vertigo.
“We made adjustments, and another volunteer performed fantastically in operating the computer, but again, when we pulled him out, he had memory loss and had a hard time walking straight.
“We hope our further studies will assist us in overcoming these flaws, for the human mind, the perfect computer and reasoning machine, operating with the technology of the world, would be a wonder.”
The interview went on, and my heart sank. Which I didn’t think it could drop any lower than it already had.
Memory loss.
And from the bits of the interview I skimmed over, they had not yet cured it or found a way around it.
I sat back in my chair and rubbed my face. How the hell was I supposed to overcome that?
I typed in a new search for how to recover from amnesia.
A torrent of things popped up. Speculations, cases, histories and various miracles that had happened and been recorded over the course of history on the recovery of amnesia, but there was nothing concrete, no solid cure. There were studies by doctors and psychiatrists who claimed to have cures, but when looking at the actual results…nothing. In fact, the cases had been made worse.
I buried my face in my hands and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the dash. There was a black emptiness that had settled over my mind. A cloud of hopelessness urged me to give it up. Return home and take my place as my parents’ heir.
I heard wooden footsteps against metal, and knew Flora was coming this way. She hadn’t yet said a word, and I dreaded her speaking now, telling me how much of a fool I was. I didn’t want to hear it, even if it were true.
She entered the room and plopped herself in the co-pilot’s seat next to me. I didn’t look up at her, though. I didn’t want to look into her shrewd eyes.
“What is this, an invitation to a pity party?” she asked after a long moment. I shook my head.
“Are you so pathetic that you would give up? After nearly getting yourself killed, more than once, might I add?”
I sat back, taking my hands away from my face and turned my chair to look at her. “She doesn’t remember me.”
“So?” Flora asked, flatly.
“So, I can’t very well whisk a woman off her feet who screamed at the sight of me,” I said.
She nodded. “Hmm. That is a problem, then, isn’t it?”
“And in any case, aren’t you supposed to be not talking to me?” I asked.
“Well, when you have children you’ll understand that sometimes you have to be the bigger person. And even though you make me furious beyond belief, I do know why you did what you did, and I understand. If I was you, I’d have done the same. As I’m not you, though, you’d never catch me doing some dumb shit like that.” She smiled, her little stubs of teeth glinting.
I actually laughed. “You know, you’re not always peaches and cream either.”
“Oh, I know that already. Who the hell would want me for a medic, eh?” she asked, chuckling.
“Apparently me. You’re the best one I know,” I said.
She shrugged. “That’s cause I like you and I’m not about to go to your father with your corpse saying ‘whoops, guess I didn’t do it fast enough.’ He’d skin me alive.”
I laughed again. Flora really had a way of making the mood lighter, even if it was pretty dismal.
“So what’s the deal? She doesn’t remember you? Show up, declare your love, big romantic gesture and all that. Simple.” She held up h
er hands as though that were the obvious answer.
“Well, it’s not that. She’s most likely been moved, as I destroyed a bunch of their building in the process of fighting. So I’ve got to find where she is now, get to her, rescue her even though she may not think she wants to be rescued at that moment, convince her that we know each other, recount our love, and bam we get married,” I said mockingly.
“Now you’re talking!” Flora clapped her hands.
“No, Flora, that’s ridiculous. She probably won’t even come with me,” I said, running a hand through my hair.
Flora shrugged. “So bop her on the head. Knock her out.”
I stared. “Yeah, that will go over well.”
“What? I’m just saying.” Flora laughed.
“Thank you, but I think I can figure it out as I go. I need to locate them,” I said, turning back to my computer screen set into my control panel. “Which, after this little treasure hunt, should be a cinch.”
Chapter 9
Aurora Intelligence aka A.I.
The sound of our footsteps was deafening against the metal grate that was our walkway. It was cold, and my breath was visible in front of me as I walked. Ben was ahead of me by several paces, and Goblyn and Rot were behind me, their heavy boots making a deafening bang with each footfall.
I trusted Ben…however, I knew my fate wasn’t in his hands. That was up to Ms. Zellman. My heart pounded against my chest, almost in sheer determination not to be forced asleep, as though it thought with each pump it could keep me awake forever.
My white body suit was not very warm, and I had no other clothes. The door at the end of the hall drew nearer, and as it did, my trepidation rose. A flutter in my chest with every movement forward. This would be my first encounter with Ms. Zellman in my body. She could hurt me now if she wanted to, like she did everyone else, and there would be nothing I could do to stop it. I couldn’t “sign off” anymore and close Ms. Zellman’s screen so I didn’t have to watch her mutilate. Though an AI with no feelings, I still didn’t want to see that. It didn’t seem right, regardless of how those people may have wronged Ms. Zellman. Nothing made it seem right.
We reached the cold black door, and Ben rapped his knuckles upon it. A bright blue scanning laser appeared in front of Ben’s face on the door and scanned his features and eyes, then beeped and the door slid open.
“Ahh, my little Aurora. Back in your body, I see,” Ms. Zellman purred the second I walked through the door.
She sat behind a great mahogany desk. A black dragon, about the size of a large dog, sat underneath the table by Ms. Zellman’s legs. It glared at me with red eyes, its fangs poking out of its mouth.
I nodded, bowing my head in respect, like all the people did when they came to see her. Ben stood in front of me, to the left. Goblyn and Rot flanked me. It made me feel nervous, like a fugitive, as though they would grab me at any moment.
“How does it feel?” Ms. Zellman asked, sucking on a long black stick which emitted puffs of pure black smoke. Her yellow eyes stared at me, unblinking.
“It’s an adjustment,” I said, trying to get back my almost flippant tone of indifference I had as an AI.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “I don’t doubt it. And how’s your memory?”
I shrugged. “Everything from my time in the computer is clear. Before that is blank.” I squared my shoulders a little more, trying to stand up straighter. “But everything I have from working for you is still there,” I added hastily.
Ms. Zellman chuckled. “I gathered that from your previous statement, but thank you for wanting to be extra certain in my reassurance. I wish all my, uh, subjects had the same care.” She glanced at Rot. I could hear him shift his weight behind me, and knew he was uncomfortable. This made me feel a bit better. I didn’t like being the highest on a shit list.
“Your workspace…” Ms. Zellman took another drag of the black vapor, breathing deep and exhaling it out of her nose, like a dragon emitting smoke from its nose after having burned down a village.
“Is destroyed, yes,” Ben Crow confirmed.
She shook her head. “Shame. What do you propose we do until your new quarters are arranged, hmm?” She leaned back in her chair, unblinkingly, her dragon staring at me from under the desk.
What did she mean, new quarters? Did she mean new computer and cryo-sleep chamber? Or that I was to be put up on this ship, her ship? I pushed down, with great effort, the rising panic and uncertainty blaring below my surface.
“She has passage on my ship, madam. I will watch her. She may use the computer system there to conduct her duties,” Ben Crow piped up again, my lighthouse in this brewing storm.
“Ahhh, I see.” Her voice was more silky than ever, and she moved her gaze to penetrate into him. “As to her duties, my dear, she’s been through a lot. She will rest for the time being until I have a more conducive system for her to work with. In the meantime, I have your word she will be under your total protection while on board your ship?”
What did that mean? Was she going to put me under again? Wasn’t there a way for me to continue my work without going back? But I knew she wouldn’t agree to that. It was better to have an emotionless AI than a human full of thoughts and feelings and opinions.
Her gaze at Ben was intense, as if something unsaid but known passed between them.
“Yes, you have my word.” Ben raised a fist to his chest in a salute.
She smiled instantly, turning it on like a switch, though it didn’t meet her eyes, which were still staring unblinkingly at Ben. “Right then. Go off and don’t come again unless I’ve called for any of you. Crow, keep your ship close. I can’t bear to have any more surprises, and she’ll be more protected if she’s next to me. Goblin, Rot, keep your ships flanking Crow’s.”
They grunted their yes ma’ams. She motioned a hand for us to go, her dragon eyeing us in a suspicious and almost…hungry way as we exited the office.
Ben made sure the others would follow behind him as instructed, then we boarded his ship and directed it follow closely to Ms. Zellman’s.
“So, the computers?” I asked.
“Yeah, like Ms. Zellman said, you’re gonna take some rest. Go back to your chambers. I’ve got a couple calls to make up here,” Ben said, and by the serious expression on his face, I didn’t argue with him. I walked back down the hallway to my room and lay down on the bed.
I intertwined my fingers over my chest and lay still, staring at the ceiling. I wonder what would happen. Perhaps Ms. Zellman would get another girl to agree to be their AI and I could go. Maybe even go with Ben. Somewhere. Anywhere.
I had the overwhelming feeling of being trapped. Held like a creature in the woods by a hunter’s knot, but no matter how hard I tugged, it wouldn’t break free. The world around me seemed so out of reach. And there it was again. That gnawing in the back of my mind. Like this feeling had been there before. Maybe I’d felt trapped in my life before Ms. Zellman and AI. Perhaps that was why I agreed to work for her. Maybe I thought it would let me see the world.
I laughed to myself. Being an AI may be fun to pop in and out of any screen connected to the net anywhere, but it wasn’t the same as living a life.
Yes, cryo-sleep in essence gave you eternal life…but what kind of life was it if I was asleep through all of it? Floating around the net, like some ghost no one can touch.
My eyelids felt heavy. I tried to keep them open, made the effort of inspecting a vent on the ceiling, but I lost the battle and my eyelids closed.
CAW CAW.
I looked up at the little crow on the tree branch.
“Come. Come,” it said.
I stood up. A machine had been under my inspection, but I dropped my tools and followed the crow. It flew past a collection of glittery and homely domes.
I stared at them in awe. Three alien women came out, one of them holding a cake. “Happy Birthday, Aurora.”
“Come, come.” I turned back to the crow. I was flying over a bro
ok. I looked down into it and saw a collection of droids I knew I built.
The crow kept flying, and it flew right off the edge of the little green garden area, into a nebula that stretched out forever.
I looked back at the garden. A man with old-school electronic arms was walking towards me, his hand outstretched, though I couldn’t make out his face. I had an overwhelming need to take his hand, and I reached mine out to his.
Gigantic black feathery wings wrapped themselves around me, encasing me in darkness as I was pulled back into the stars. Something was nagging at me, pulling at my shoulder.
“Aurora? Aurora?”
I opened my eyes. Ben was sitting beside me on the bed, lightly shaking my shoulder. He smiled when my eyes met his, but something seemed off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Nothing really, nothing to worry about.”
“Ben…” I needed his reassurance. That dream had not made me feel any better. In fact, I felt worse, the nervous fluttering in my chest seeming to be flying through my veins, carrying the feeling to each tip of my limbs, like that bird in my dreams carried me off.
“Am I going to go back into the computer?” I asked, my voice quiet.
He looked at me a little sadly and then looked down at his lap. “I don’t know.”
An honest answer, but one I didn’t want.
“Is there any way to avoid that entirely?” I whispered.
He shook his head.
Tears filled my eyes, and I was angry at myself for it. I turned away from him, facing the cold wall.
“I’m sorry,” he said and patted my shoulder. “If there was a way, I would help find it. But sadly, it’s not up to us.”
I turned back to him. “I know.”
He gave me a small smile. “Wanted to check on you…” And he gripped my hand tightly before releasing it. Then he got up and walked out, dimming the lights for me on the way.