12 Days of Fiction 2017: Day 11.

Trapped

As I came to, I first perceived the smell: a mix of ozone and chemicals. no mask then. Then indistinct sounds: human voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Finally, blurry images as my eyelids fluttered open.

“Ah, Miss September, welcome back,” that voice said.

Brooks. That damned Brooks.

I found myself bound, and quite thoroughly, I’d say, as I tried to move every limb, to no avail. I was stripped down to the unitard I wore under my assault suit. And I could barely turn my head from side to side, but I suspected what I needed to see was right in front of me: the pod with Elianora inside.

“Maren?”

I was painfully aware of her absence. I didn’t remember the last time I had felt like that. Even back when she had gone up to the satellite (and how long had she been doing that?), it had been different: I had the feeling she was gone, but simply for a while.

Not now. And I discovered I didn’t like that. At all.

I felt anger boiling inside of me, but decided to clamp it down. I might need it later.

Instead, I tried to bring everything into focus. What was Maren saying when I had lost her? Who worked for Neodyne?

Oh. It had to be…

“Hello, Rebecca,” a new voice said. And as I was expecting, Mirilla Finke came into focus.

I tried to say something, but I realized I couldn’t.

“I’ve used a bonding spell,” Mirilla said with a smirk. “It must be wearing down. You’ll be able to speak in minutes.”

“Shall we explain Ms September what she has done, Ms Finke?”

Shit. Really? Was the villain of the story going to start monologuing? What was this, a cheap second-rate comic book? Well, at least it could be a dialogue: Mirilla was there. The bitch.

“M… Maren,” I managed to croak.

“Oh, yes, Ms September,” Brooks said. “I wanted your AI. You see, AIs not built by Neodyne are rare and precious. And I’ve already used too many Neodyne resources in this… rogue project of mine.”

“Also, Neodyne AIs failed the tests with this body,” Mirilla said, pointing at the pod.

“You…” I said.

“Sorry, nothing personal,” she shrugged. “My family has a share in Neodyne. Not directly, you see, but it’s there. So I got in. And one day Mr Brooks came to me with an interesting proposal, though a bit… clandestine.”

“And Ms Finke surpassed all my expectations, I must say.”

“Bodies…” I said.

“Yes, Ms September, bodies.” Brooks said. “So that they could be used as the customer wishes. Such as receptacles for AIs, for instance. Oh, I could see the moral implications and so could the board of directors, so that project was already under wraps. Imagine if people knew Neodyne was working on that before all the legal ramifications were taken care of.”

“And meanwhile, we had the idea of a magic-wielding body,” Mirilla intervened. “Imagine if we could have a body that didn’t need to face the thaumic exertion.”

I didn’t need to nod.

“Ms Finke provided us with the necessary genetic material. It could have been herself, but the final stages needed… shall we say, extreme measures.”

“So I produced an alternative, and I volunteered Elianora.”

“You killed your… mate?” I said. “I didn’t detect… magic.”

“She didn’t use magic,” Brooks said. “She used nanobots. Clean and, so far, almost undetectable even if you’re looking for them.”

Small wonder we didn’t pick up anything.

“You need… Maren.” I said.

“Yes,” Brooks said. “Your AI has the perfect level of expertise for this. She will be able to interface with the body and allow us to use it. It’s already passed the tests. It will do fine. And your continuous presence with us will assure its compliance.”

I clinched at hearing him call Maren an it, but tried to keep calm. Ire was of no help.

I needed more pieces of the puzzle. I fixed my gaze on the woman within the pod. On her wrist. Brooks followed my stare.

“Ah, now you understand, Miss September. The last fragment. A grimoire. And yes, we’ve already given the body the one that belonged to Ms Kellerhouse.”

“She already has hers, Brooks,” Mirilla said.

“Oh yes. Could she make use of it?” he asked.

“Not while she’s in the dampener field,” she said. A dampener field as well? Great.

“Better not to run any risks,” Brooks said.

He grabbed a scalpel and stepped closer. Grabbing my arm, he put the scalpel blade under the rubber band of my grimoire.

“No!” I cried.

But he sliced through it.

That was his mistake.