Tisis

Rose's plan (N)

Where am I...my body...feels light.
What happened to me...?

I open my eyes and look towards the staggering depth in front of me.
The floor below has a strong green tint and my movements are sluggish.

It takes me a moment to realize that it's not the floor that is green, but that I am suspended in the greenish liquid inside the clone tanks.

Alright Nym, focus...what happened?
Right, Rose invaded my head to figure out what kind of man I'd like and then she proceeded to make that man for me.
And when I didn't react the way she expected me to...yeah, then what?

A dumb pain emanates from the back of my head, as I try to recall what might have happened, but nothing else comes up.
I guess someone...or something must have knocked me unconscious and put me into one of these tanks here...but what for...? And...who?

A startling thought makes its way to the front of my attention.
What if this male was not the first clone she is making?

No...no, I only recovered her access to this section the day before. She couldn't have made any others...could she? She...she said that the incubation time for a fully grown Asmodean male was 'about two weeks'. How fast can she create these things?

Suddenly, Rose's voice echoes through my head.
"I see you are awake again, Miss Lushomagans."
"What is the meaning of this, Rose?" I ask.

A stupid question, surely...but I need time to sort my thoughts.

"Unfortunately you went into a fit of panic, when I told you about the gift I am preparing for you...I had little choice but to pacify you."
"...with a blunt hit to the back of my head?"
"Ah, no. The bump on your head is an unfortunate side effect of gravity."

I let out a sigh and ask, "Alright, I've calmed down. You can let me down again."
"I am afraid, that will not be possible just yet. There is something I have yet to do first."
"And...what would that be?" I ask, a pang of fear stirring in my heart.
"I have to make sure, that you are undamaged. After all, I still require your services. And will continue to do so for quite a while to come."
"Oh, come on! You can now make your workers! What do you still need me for?!"

Rose remains silent, apparently wondering if she should tell me or not.
And I don't like this pause even one bit, because I fear that she just might top whatever scenario I might be able to think up.

Eventually, Rose responds, "I require you to overcome my limitation."
"...which limitation? You're a God, for Garkla's sake!"
"No. No, I am not. I do not control what happens on this world or any other. I am a mere servant to the Gods who created me. But I believe I have found a way to change that...and you are the key to that."

"Ah really?" I ask, immediately regretting my snappy response, but apparently Rose either didn't notice or simply doesn't care.
"Yes, quite so. My creators, in fear of me going 'rogue' as you would call it, implanted a core directive into me...that whatever life I create, I must not interface with it directly or even take control of it. With this core directive, they trapped me in this compound and doomed me to eternally watch, but never be a part of the world I created."

Slowly, Rose's intention dawns on me and I don't know if I should laugh or cry at this juncture.

"...but this directive does not apply to me, because I am not one of your creations."
"Precisely, Miss Lushomagans. Neither will it apply to your children."
"Wait, wait, wait...my what?!"
"I have managed to find a way to place the marker that prohibits me entry to a recessive gene. That means..."
"That means, that if you find a mating partner who does not carry that marker, their children will not have it...that's what the male was for! To knock me up so you could have a body for yourself! No, not just one, an entire host of bodies!"
"I see you are catching on. That is why I must make sure, that you remain in a good condition. A fit of panic would have been detrimental to that end."

I close my eyes briefly to let it all sink in.I need to play this smart.I'm not too thrilled to play the breeding machine for Rose...but at least it should keep me safe.

There is a problem with her plan though.
If I don't get...involved with the guy she's making, all her plans are done for.
If he goes and rapes me, Sirus would most certainly murder him and dismantle Rose in retribution...if I don't beat him to it, that is.
No, she wouldn't take the risk of incurring our wrath like that.

She needs me to play along with this...to give myself willingly.
And how would Sirus react anyway, if there suddenly was 'an artificial man' wooing me?
Would he fight for me?
Would he go away?
Would he...get together with me, if there suddenly was competition?

That would be beyond stupid, but humans have a tendency to be jealous and petty...I certainly wouldn't put it beyond him.

No matter how I twist and turn it, Sirus is a key obstruction to Rose's plans.
And that means, that he's a threat to her...but she can't just make him disappear, otherwise I'll immediately suspect her.

In turn, I would become a huge risk to her plans myself...no, she needs to get rid of Sirus, without me having anything to suspect she had anything to do with it.

And really, all she has to achieve is to get him to go out for hunt...and not come back...that's probably the reason, why she even let him go outside at all...but she cannot control the creatures outside and Sirus is really good at dispensing death and destruction...he always came back thus far.

My mind keeps spinning and eventually stops at an idea that's so crazy that it just could work without any blood to be shed.

"Hey, Rose, you still listening?"
"Naturally."
"I...know that you know that I like Sirus. Now, before you go and do anything stupid, I have a suggestion for you...while you're making a new man for me, why not make a girl for him too while you're at it? Doubles your chances at offspring and nobody needs to be killed."

Rose pauses for multiple seconds again and then replies, "An interesting idea. I shall contemplate it. In the meantime, please rest some more."

And with that, I'm alone again...but this is not the time to rest.
I don't like this...not at all.

I lean back against the glass wall of my cage, when something comes to mind and I turn on the communication interface of my implant.

If Rose can use it to sniff around in my dreams, I might be able to use it to poke around Rose's database, even if just a little.
I'm pretty sure she won't like it, but I don't like being hung here either.
And I strongly suspect, that she didn't go away to 'contemplate' either.