Imi outstretched her arms and tried to wade through the inky, gelatinous void with no success. Every stroke easily parted the liquid matter but the lack of friction and force kept her locked in place, as if she was swimming through a vacuum with nowhere to go. She moved faster, in different directions, and even tried to spin. Nothing worked. The neural synapses embedded in her fired hectically, trying to make sense of the odd sensation. The load of incoming data threatened to overwhelm her mental system. She tried to yell out, but the void carried no sound. Suddenly, a white light began to emanate from below her, building until the entire void was replaced by an endless sea of light. Imi blinked and a new image came into focus.
"Model X2-131, run test program: Delta Echo Charlie Oscar. Synapse system, engage," a familiar voice echoed through the light.
Colors replaced the white and swirled into various shapes and sizes. First, general ones: large squares, small rectangles, a few circles. Then, more detail and features. Shading. Finally, Imi found herself sitting in a padded blue chair in a white-walled room. Computers of every variety were spread across the space, each running unique bits of coding or diagrams. The room was clean, pristine even. Ahead of her stood a young woman of medium-sized build with tanned skin and dark brown hair tied up into a bun. Her chestnut brown eyes were full of warmth as she leaned in closer to Imi. The features of her face resembled Imi's own, just slightly different.
Imi felt a wave wash against her and the synthetic skin that encased her melt away instantly. She sat in the chair, nothing left of her body but a polished silver frame with cobalt highlights. There was a feeling of emptiness and exposure that she had locked away long ago banging at the recesses of her systemic mind.
"Model X2-131, how are you feeling?" The woman asked as she rapidly typed notes into the holographic pad projected in front of her.
Imi lost control of her body as her throat whirred and her jaw clicked open. "Pr-pro-processing speech patterns. Systems aligned. Requesting input: What is this unit's name?"
The woman paused and smiled. "Model X2-131, reconstruct unit name: code Emily."
"Unit name rewritten. I am E-Em-Emily."
"We'll work on those speech patterns some more," the woman beamed. "We're already starting off with amazing progress!"
Imi tried to fight against the motions of her body and the words that forced themselves out of her mouth. She was fully aware of what was going on and who she was with. She didn't want to endure the pain again, especially not as a passenger to her own memory banks. Her mouth snapped back open.
"Query: What is the creator's name?"
"I guess it's bad manners to not introduce myself, right, Emily?" The woman said. "You can call me Nira."
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Diah dropped down into the lower floor of the factory, following the sound of Imi's screams as they erupted from a pulsating purple bubble. She could see the bubble was Kanutic in nature, but was hesitant to find out what it did. Imi's body twitched and shuddered inside, and Diah knew that she had to rescue her companion somehow. She summoned her Kanushin back into two daggers and stabbed the bubble, piercing through its jelly mass and prying it open.
A snap occurred behind Diah and she felt an armored elbow slam into the top of her back. Rhessian laughed and disappeared in a puff of smoke as she whipped around to hit him, appearing again on a pipe above. Particles rose from the bubble and coalesced into four new, identical copies of the Kunar. The remainder of the bubble shifted into a slimy skin-tight layer around Imi's body. The many Rhessians poofed down and encircled Diah, who flipped her daggers around and adopted a battle stance.
"Sorry to interrupt your rescue attempt," Rhessian teased. "She's a little busy dealing with the ghosts of her past right now."
Diah flung her left dagger toward the speaking Kunar and watched as it sliced through his smoke-filled body. A foot kicked her in the side, then another against her shoulder blade. She fell to the ground and rolled onto her back as Rhessian dropped down from above to stomp her. Diah crossed her arms and summoned a spiked barrier as he landed. Rhessian screamed in pain from the spikes stabbing into his foot and disappeared once again.
As Diah went to stand, a chunk of debris fell from the ceiling and crashed into the ground near her. She looked up to see cracks spreading rapidly and the horrific sound of metal tearing as the rest of the ceiling caved in.
_______________________________________________________________________
Imi blinked and the scene reset. Colors bled into one another as a new image was sketched out before her eyes. It was the same room and the same padded chair, but Nira was a few months older.
"Aren't you excited, Emily? This is going to be your first time out of the lab!" Nira exclaimed. She hopped with glee. "I can't wait to show you off to everyone. All they do is tell me to focus more on the panels. Dad cares, though. I think he sees it's the first time I've been really invested in something."
Nira ran to Imi and unhooked her from the dozens of wires that were laced into her frame. Imi stood with a few loud clicks. She was only two inches taller than her creator. Nira grabbed her hand and more images began to pass by like photos in a slideshow. A dining hall. A medical bay. An airlock. In every one, Nira stood by her side with hands outstretched and a beautiful smile, going through her rehearsed introduction of Imi for anyone that would listen. The image transitioned then settled onto one of Imi's favorites: a bright, orange sun blazing over the horizon and illuminating the small asteroids that orbited the station.
Imi blinked again and the skin started to slowly mold back over her body. Another Nira, a year older, formed in front of her. Her eyes had small, dark circles under them.
" - is why I decided to try a synthetic overlay," Nira's voice crept in, mid-explanation. "Are you able to feel the different synapses still firing through the skin?"
"It feels better," Imi informed her. "I feel whole."
"Okay, cool," Nira said with a small sigh. "The rest of the robotics division can take my notes, then. If the UIFH wants their androids, they can have them, but you are my special project. I refuse to let anyone take you away."
"Nira, query: Why would they want to take me away?" Imi asked. "You've stated progress is good. Is it because I cannot form a Kanushin?"
Nira ran her fingers over Imi's skin, pressing and poking in various points of her arms and face. She seemed distraught. "No, Emily. Honestly, it's because I haven't given them all of your coding. They can't replicate your intelligence. At least, not at the speed you're developing. I did something differently that... I'm not sure they'll appreciate."
Before Imi could respond, an older man with a stocky physique and bristly white mustache entered the room. He paused, eyes locked onto Imi, and shook his head in disgust.
"Hello, Zahn. Query: How are you doing?" Imi asked nonchalantly.
Nira turned around and started to panic.
"Zahn, you need to go. She's not ready yet. I didn't want you to -"
"Didn't want me to what, Nira?" Zahn exploded. "To see what you've done to your android? Was the name not enough? You have to stop this. You can't bring her back!"
"I can try!" Nira screamed. She grabbed a brown box from her table and threw it at the ground where it smashed into hundreds of pieces. "You can't take her from me. Not you, not dad, and damn sure not the UIFH."
"All you're doing is hurting your father, Nira!" Zahn roared. "Stop being so selfish and think about the family that you still have."
The image before Imi vibrated and reset on its own. Nira was balled into the corner of her lab, sobbing heavily between her knees. Imi unhooked herself from the chair and slowly moved toward her. She crouched down and placed a hand on Nira's shoulder.
"I miss him, Emily," Nira said between sobs. "I had the nightmare again. I always think I can help him, but I never can. I just burn up in the sunlight instead. What does it mean?"
"I miss your father's presence as well, Nira," Imi said in her best attempt to console. Her mind ran through the multitude of emotional recognition and support programs that Nira had installed. "In your dream, you burn. You are angry at yourself, and that anger is swallowing you whole. Do not let it engulf you, Nira. You are loved. Zahn loves you. I love you as well."
Nira looked at Imi with tear stains streaming down her face. Her expression was one of fear and exhaustion. She pressed up against Imi, who wrapped both arms around her mourning creator. Nira reached up to grab Imi's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Please don't ever leave me," Nira whispered. "Okay, mom?"
Another reset, but the scene this time was unfamiliar. Imi tried to search her memory banks, but she only had the small bits that came after. The pieces that hurt. The room was on fire, chunks raining from above as explosions rocked everything around her. Electricity sparked from the exposed wiring in the walls. Nira ran in, panting heavily. Her arms were covered by her sputtering yellow Kanushin. She looked around and sent a band of energy up into the exposed frame, triggering an explosion that brought it down in front of the doorway. Nira moved swiftly to her main computer and began to type rapidly.
"Nira, query: What is happening to Ivoli?" Imi asked. For the first time, she felt the odd, creeping sensation of fear.
"We're being attacked, Emily. I need to transfer this data into the only place I know it'll be safe," She explained. She pointed toward Imi. "I need to store it in your MenXhip."
"Nira, query: What data?"
"The data for you, and for the rest of the androids the UIFH were trying to create," Nira said, then hesitated. "And for the 'Aether Jump' project. Emily, I need you to listen to me, and carefully."
Nira moved forward and grabbed both of Imi's hands.
"You cannot let anyone, and I mean anyone, see the 'Aether Jump' project. There's too many risks involved. Things that can't be explained. If the Kunar obtain it, we won't be able to survive."
Loud shouting erupted from down the hall and made Nira shudder nervously. She grabbed Imi's shoulders and pushed her back into the chair. Nira flicked a toggle on the side.
"I need you to trust me, okay?" Nira said as the wires latched back into Imi and the chair lifted up. It flattened out and cold bars snapped around her arms and legs to hold her in place as a thin capsule rose from the ground. The capsule closed around Imi like a cocoon.
"Nira, query: What are you doing?" Imi yelled in a metallic voice.
Nira gave Imi a look of solace as the capsule pulled back into the wall. She tapped at something on her screen without looking. Nira waved at Imi in a final goodbye as the wall closed back together. Imi couldn't hear Nira's last words to her, but was able to read them from her lips.
"I love you."
The capsule hummed as its body glowed a dim green. A screen popped up in front of Imi with rotating code and plans. Everything began to transfer to her MenXhip: blueprints and data, locations, planetary designations, military documents, and a wave of other information that flashed across her mind. The last file was an image of Imi, a tiny Nira - no older than five - and her father together in front of the Pocanian sun.
_________________________________________________________________________
Zaius and Kirrik fell with the debris into the cylindrical room below. The former landed on a pile of metal and rocks, tumbling down the side and across the ground, while the latter shot out a Kanutic chain and swung over to Imi's location. She let out another scream as sparks shot from her body and she crumpled to the ground.
Zaius rolled his shoulder back into place. Diah, crouched nearby, yelled something incoherent to him. He picked himself up and rushed toward her when Rhessian appeared out of the air in front of him and delivered a punch directly to his stomach. As quickly as he appeared, Rhessian was gone.
"You four are the one's giving us such a hard time?" Rhessian called out from the shadows. "I doubt the capabilities of my lesser colleagues. No matter. One way or another, you die today!"
As if on cue, the rubble near Zaius started to shift and break away. A hulking fist smashed through the rock, batting aside what remained. Rhug let out a terrifying growl and crawled out of the debris. Across the way, Kirrik picked up the goo-covered Imi and moved closer to Diah and Zaius.
"That thing doesn't go down easy," Zaius told Diah, pointing toward Rhug.
"Neither does the other one," Diah added.
"You two take Imi and get her out of here," Kirrik ordered. He placed Imi's unconscious body gently in Diah's arms and moved up toward the approaching Rhug. He looked back at Diah and Zaius. "Make sure that no matter what, you help her out. Run quickly and don't look back. I'll do my best to hold them off."
Zaius shook his head in objection. "Kirrik, one of them alone beat us within an inch of our lives. Two is certain death."
"Unless the odds are evened," a gravelly voice shouted from above. The gray-bodied mass dropped down with a thunderous crash into the ground just feet away from Kirrik. Balakus clapped his hands together and looked toward the group.
"Need some help?"
________________________________________________________________________
The final memory crafted itself despite Imi's attempts to resist. She knew what would happen. She dreaded what she would find. The void did not care.
The capsule cracked open as the wall crumbled away in front of it. Lights buzzed and flickered as short shocks caused the capsule to restart repeatedly. Imi felt every one, the files downloading into her MenXhip constantly. She cried out in agony at the pain that her overloaded brain caused her. The bars loosened against her tugs and she broke free, only to drop out into a nightmarish version of the lab she knew so well. The ceiling of the lab, and the station itself, had been blasted apart and the deadly chill of space had seeped in. The artificial gravity and life preservation systems of Ivoli faded in and out with every electrical reset. Imi pushed through the debris and looked for any trace of Nira when she saw the residual burn marks in the shape of a body traced into the wall. She cried out in disbelief, then scanned the marks to confirm her worst fear.
For the first time, Imi felt heartbreak, then pain, then rage. She smashed her fists into the floor of the station repeatedly until it chipped apart. Nothing could ease her emotions.
"How did you manage to survive all of this?" A country voice asked in disbelief behind her. "Are you okay? What's your name, miss?"
Imi turned and faced Kirrik for what would be the first time. His face, eleven years younger, was one she didn't know would usher in a new phase of her artificial life. She tried to form a sentence in response, but her fried systems lacked the energy to process a full one. Instead, she used all the processing power that she could to form a one-worded, stuttering answer.
"Emi–ly"