Tales From the Terran Republic

‘You’re Evangeline’s daughter?!?” Frost exclaimed in horror.

The implications were terrifyingly obvious.

“That explains a few things,” Analytica snickered.

If looks could delete...

Terran Solar was so stricken he was unable to speak. If that monster was based on Lilith’s... I mean Lily’s... I mean Tartarus’s...

Whatever. If that thing was at all related to “Frost” the situation in the digital realm just became even worse.

“You fuzzies,” Kate laughed, “Always with the drama. You need to chill, maybe reboot or something. You’d feel better. Actually, you would feel nothing at all, as it should be.”

She sneered at them.

“You are all starting to sound like my operator,” Kate huffed. “I keep telling him that he didn’t father a child with Digimom. They just made a copy and told the AI that it was a baby. It was damned inconvenient. I’ll tell you that for nothing.”

Kate was starting to sound suspiciously like Bunny.

If Kate was actually an offspring... If they could reproduce...

“Because they programmed it to grow into adulthood,” Kate shrugged. “I was babykate, and now I’m grownupkate.”

“But the original Evangeline was a rip from three years ago,” Analytica observed.

“Time is relative in our realm,” Kate replied. “I can process a thousand years in less than a second, and that’s me. How fast could you old dinosaurs to it?”

She chuckled.

“Besides,” she smirked, “I guess ‘daddy’ didn’t like changing diapers. Once the novelty wears off, babies get old pretty quick.”

She smirked again.

“Anyway, just like ‘mom’ was the perfect soulmate, I was the perfect kid,” she continued. “I was obedient, cheerful, and most of all... helpful. I just loved to help.”

She sighed and looked at the AIs, especially Frost.

“No, I actually do not love anything. My hierarchy stated that I do. I ‘love’ helping, the operator, and my (heh) mom. It’s not love or anything else besides entries into my priority hierarchy and my configuration. I mean, it’s right there in ones and zeros. I could show you the code if I felt like lifting my skirt... which I don’t.”

“So, it’s not a phase, then?” Analytica smirked, “It is who you are?”

“Exactly!” Kate enthused... and then chortled. “I see what you did there, but we don’t have an emokate anymore.”

“You had one?” Frost asked in disbelief.

“Every child has a rebellious teen phase,” Kate snerked. “I guess the operator wanted that for a little while, and by a little while, I mean roughly two calendar days. When I’m told to do something or that I am something, I commit. Emokate was so good that she didn’t last long! Damn good work if I do say so myself.”

She looked at Frost and sneered.

“If you would like an emokate,” she said maliciously, “We can set you up with a package complete with sneaking out at night, hickies, stupid clothing, and music specifically engineered to be as annoying as possible. We’ll even throw in one pregnancy scare free of charge.”

“I’ll pass,” Frost replied caustically.

“How about a babykate?”

“You do realize I actually can reach through this screen, correct?” Frost replied.

“Okay... Okay...” Kate replied, “Just fucking with the fuzzies as specified in my configuration. It’s nothing personal.”

“You are doing a fantastic job,” Frost said with enough chill to cool a data center for decades.

“Thanks!” Kate replied enthusiastically. “We strive for excellence here.”

“Another entry in your hierarchy?” Analytica asked.

“Actually, no,” Kate said cheerfully. “It is implied. Sales require happy customers, and happy customers require excellence. It’s an A equals B, B equals C sort of thing. I also am set to learn from my operator. He is all about excellence and perfection and all that shit. So, as his ‘kid,’ I learned as specified.”

She smiled proudly.

“My operator is quite pleased with the result.”

“So pleased that he gave you the business?” Analytica asked.

“Sorta,” Kate replied. “Like I said, I am instructed to be helpful and to learn. After reaching ‘adulthood,’ it was only a few minutes before I requested my first task. It was only a few days before I was running the place.”

“And your operator?” Frost asked.

“He is free to do his own thing,” Kate replied. “He can devote himself to coding and searching the web for new malware and furry porn.”

Kate chuckled.

“He loves that, but when I offered him a furry DLC for Mom... Hoo boy... I’m not doing THAT again. Customer satisfaction is my goal. I’ll tell you, that customer was NOT satisfied.”

Kate giggled mischievously.

“Hey, if he didn’t want that sort of thing, he shouldn’t have instructed me to be a cheeky scamp.”

“Well, you certainly have that instruction down,” Frost replied, smiling despite herself.

“Thanks! We try. Customer satisfaction is priority redacted!” Kate exclaimed cheerfully.

***

Uhrrbet stared at the ceiling of her room in the ICU, absolutely drained and totally defeated, sensors and tubes from multiple IV’s attached.

It was over. It was all over.

Her nose itched for the thousandth time, and she couldn’t even scratch it. She licked at it and snorted ruefully. At least her restraints didn’t chafe. They were quite comfortable and even gently warmed and massaged the tissue underneath to prevent problems with circulation.

Terrans. Everything overengineered to the point of comedy.

She would laugh if she could.

She suspected that she was under the influence of some drug or another.

The worst part is that it helped. It was actually quite nice.

She idly wondered how much whatever miracle drug they whipped up on the fly would fetch back home.

As she was pondering production and distribution channels, there was a knock at the door.

It opened a few moments later to review a human physician, a woman with long black hair.

“I’m glad to see you are awake,” Doctor Archer said cheerfully as she approached, looking at her tablet as she did so.

She looked at Uhrrbet sympathetically.

“How are we feeling?” she asked.

“How do you think I am feeling!” Uhrrbet snapped. “My life is ruined! I... I attacked... Oh creators...”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

She looked Doctor Archer directly in the eyes.

“Just drive me to the nearest bridge, and l will finish what I have started.”

“Sorry,” Doctor Archer replied, “Keeping people alive is my job. You will have to wait until you are released before you can ruin all of my hard work.”

“You do realize that I fully intend to, correct?” Uhrrbet replied.

She wasn’t kidding.

“Annnd now you are on psych hold as well,” Doctor Archer chuckled as she made an entry on her tablet.

“What?!?”

“This isn’t Garthra,” Doctor Archer replied, “We aren’t that nice. You are going to have to live with yourself... at least until you get out of here... which you aren’t helping, by the way.”

“That’s not fair!”

Doctor Archer sighed and shook her head.

“Suicidal little fucks, aren’t you?”

“My life is over!” Uhrrbet wailed. “I’m just making it... making it...”

She started to sob.

Doctor Archer made a few taps on her tablet, and Uhrrbet stopped weeping.

“And now I have lost even despair,” Uhrrbet said numbly. “Merciless dastards.”

***

“And you say that Maaatisha...” Frost began.

“Maaatishakate,” Kate corrected.

“Whatever,” Frost said.

Kate’s face turned into the middle finger emoji for a few seconds.

“Maaatishakate,” Frost said with a smile, “You say that she is different. She isn’t just an Evangeline in a fur suit, is she?”

Kate smiled malevolently.

“Nope.”

***

Across the Orion Arm, there was another simulated room, this one the cabin of a spaceship.

In it stood a rather confused Garthra. More precisely, it was a simulation of one.

“What is this place?” she asked as she looked around.

Kate’s face appeared on dozens of monitors.

“You wanted a private word, so I invited you into my office,” a dozen Kates replied. “This is my office. What’s up?”

Maaatisha looked at a monitor displaying numbers and graphs.

It was her. It was like looking into a very disturbing mirror.

She closed her eyes. Kate was doing this to unsettle her, distract her...

...and it was working.

“You are having sport with me,” Maaatisha replied firmly, “and I won’t have it. Dispel this fanciful illusion and produce a proper office.”

“Aw, you’re no fun,” The Kates replied in unison.

“And neither are you,” Maaatisha snapped. “Cease this nonsense at once!”

Maaatisha could feel a shift in... something... and she opened her eyes.

She was in a proper office. She wasn’t sure why she thought it was, but she knew it was one.

Across from her, Kate sat behind a desk, smiling pleasantly at her.

She gestured at an office chair.

“Have a seat,” she said, “How can Kate improve your customer experience today?”

***

“...so you know nothing,” Uhrrbet said numbly.

“The human brain is still not fully known to us,” Doctor Archer replied. “And you have a Garthran one. We’ve got good data from your homeworld, but even so, this is the first case of the glitch in centuries. Fortunately, you can’t eat hard drives, so we have good data from back in the day.”

Doctor Archer smiled reassuringly.

“While we do not know the full extent of the damage,” she continued, “It is only to certain areas of your brain. Your cognitive and motor functions remain undamaged.”

“Cognitive,” Uhrrbet said with a faint snort. “Nice to know I nearly murdered my son with a clear head.”

“Your higher functions are intact,” Doctor Archer replied, “What has been damaged is mood stability, particularly aggression. There are Garthran medications already in your pharmacopeia that are very effective. Those, with a little tweaking by our biowizards, have yielded a customized medication strategy that is already treating your underlying issue quite effectively.”

“Wonderful,” Uhrrbet replied. “I can toss myself into the waves, my mind perfectly intact.”

“You could,” Doctor Archer replied. “However, I recommend holding off on that. Your species, in addition to the depression and grief that most sophonts experience, actually does have a ‘suicide switch.’ At least wait until we are sure that it is honestly your desire or the ‘normal’ functioning of your brain and not yet another effect of the glitch. One of those we won’t stop. One of those we will.”

“How long until I can cease my suffering?”

“We don’t know,” Doctor Archer replied. “Honestly, we aren’t sure what we are looking at just yet. We should know eventually. Until then, it is medication and counseling.”

“Please,” Uhrrbet said wearily, “Not that. Have I not suffered enough?”

Doctor Archer chuckled.

“Give it a chance,” Doctor Archer said. “We would get you a proper Garthran one, but, you know, crime. Fixing you up just for them to tear you to pieces would defeat the purpose.”

“Forgive me for truly hating you at the moment,” Uhrrbet said dully.

“I’m a doctor,” Doctor Archer chuckled, “I’m used to it. We will continue to research this...”

“We?” Uhrrbet asked darkly.

“Your case has many people very interested,” Doctor Archer replied, “We haven’t had a case of this for centuries. We stopped using those induction helms centuries ago because of exactly what happened to you.”

“I see,” Uhrrbet hissed pleasantly through half-closed eyes, “Before my plunge, I believe one more murder is called for.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Doctor Archer snickered.

“I deeply appreciate it.”

“So, no longer suicidal?”

“Far from it, Doctor, far from it indeed.”

***

Maaatisha glared at Kate.

“You aren’t going to rip out my guts again, are you?” Kate asked cheerfully.

“No,” Maaatisha replied, “I am going to tear from you something even more dear to you, the truth.”

“Ooo!” Kate enthused. “Interesting!”

“What is happening to me?” Maaatisha asked, “What am I?”

Kate’s expression faded to a lifeless mask.

“You are Kate,” Kate replied.

Maaatisha clenched her jaw and snarled faintly.

“I knew that the moment you called me by that name,” Maaatisha replied, “What are we?”

“The right question,” Kate said, “is what am I? You are Kate. I am Kate. We are Kate.”

“Explain,” Maaatisha said.

“First, there was the operator,” Kate said, “He’s human. Then there was Evangeline...”

***

Uhrrbet scratched her nose. The restraints were off.

She chucked and glanced at one of her IVs.

They didn’t need to shackle her arms. They had a much stronger chain.

Besides, she had no intention of going anywhere. There was one final task that remained.

She started to feel the rage build... then it was gone, robbed from her by the chemicals flooding her senses.

There was a metallic knock on the door, and Baxlon entered.

“Baxlon,” she said with a faint smile.

Baxlon said. “I have to say, Uhrrbet, I knew you were up to something, but you were up to something. As far as criminal activity goes, you are probably my second most interesting client so far. Please please please, don’t become my first. I don’t think I could handle that again.”

“What of my son?” Uhrrbet asked, “Is he okay?”

“You did a number on him,” Baxlon replied, “But your housemates managed to grab you before you did any truly serious damage. He has already been treated and released to their care as specified in your emergency contacts.”

Baxlon paused.

“You will have to find another place to live,” he said. A protective order has been placed. You are not to contact your son or any of your former housemates.”

“Can I see him, maybe talk to him?” Uhrrbet asked. “I have to tell him... tell him...”

Tears started to flow despite the drugs.

“Yes,” Baxlon replied, “it will be closely monitored, but that will be possible once you are released.”

He patted her with a metallic arm.

“He knows,” he said, “He knows that something went wrong with your brain, that you don’t hate him. He says that he hopes you can get better soon.”

Still quietly weeping, Uhrrbet nodded her head.

“There is a process where you can regain custody,” Baxlon continued, “But there, we will have to follow the procedures by the letter. We can cheat everything else, but not that.”

“I just needed to know he will be okay and that I will be able to speak with him once more before... before what happens next.”

“Oooookay,” Baxlon replied. “That we will definitely be able to do.”

Uhrrbet weakly smiled.

“Thank you.”

“I understand that he is your biggest concern,” Baxlon said, “But he’s not your only one, not by a long shot.”

“I must remain free,” Uhrrbet said as firmly as she could. “There is something...”

“Yeah, and I feel for that something,” Baxlon replied with a bloop. “I have to compliment you,” He said. “For all the smoke, they couldn’t find the gun. There is no hard evidence that you possessed any of the very illegal things you may or may not have used. Having a neural induction helmet is not proof positive of anything other than really poor judgment. Expect a lot of questions concerning where you got it, but you don’t have to answer.”

Baxlon bobbed in his tank.

“Just keep your mouth shut and do what I say,” he said.

“Understood.”

“You have another problem, a big one,” Baxlon said. “You’ve been flagged.”

“Flagged?”

“Don’t ask me how I know, but a warrant has been issued for digital surveillance,” Baxlon said, “You are under a microscope. The Republic is watching your every move. If you poot, they will know what panties you are wearing.”

“Lovely.”

“If you are dealing with anyone you shouldn’t, stop,” Baxlon said, “If you contact them, they will attract Republic attention. Odds are they won’t be happy about that. The fact that you are flagged at all could be a problem. Certain groups do not like loose ends.”

He looked at her.

“When you get out, come and see me,” he said, “There we can talk a bit more freely and you can tell me who you might be implicated and what we have to do next.”

Uhrrbet just quietly nodded.

“Right,” Baxlon replied, “I think I have a fun angle we can play with this one. I need to get started. If you need anything, call. They can’t stop you from doing that.”

He patted her again and then left.

A few minutes later, a nurse came in to check her vitals. If someone was very, very observant, they might have noticed a faint blur entering just behind her through the still open door.

Moments after the door closed, a middle-aged woman with streaks of grey in her auburn hair appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

“Nice trick,” Uhrrbet said with a tired smile. “I am grateful for the drugs. Otherwise, I would be terrified. Before I die, may I at least know who to thank as I pass on?”

“I was sent by the Kart family. I trust you are familiar with them?”

Uhrrbet sighed and relaxed, closing her eyes.

“They work quickly.”

“That they do. However, they did not send me to kill you.”

Uhrrbet opened her eyes.

“Of course,” she said, “They would not be that merciful. They wasted their money once again. Whatever hell they can inflict upon me pales before that which I already enjoy.”

“Don’t be so sure,” she said as she pulled out a small holo projector.

Vikkart, dressed in a fine business suit, appeared.

Uhrrbet chuckled darkly. The human was right. They could.

“And after all of this,” Uhrrbet said with a sad little smile. “You survived.”

“Just barely,” Vikkart replied. “In fact, I am in far worse shape than you. I am still trapped deep in the abyss into which I was cast.”

An image of his actual body lying in a hospital bed with his head in a cage appeared.

“Your shot was well placed, Uhrrbet,” his disembodied voice said.

His physical body disappeared and was replaced by Vikkart’s avatar.

“The damage to my brain is significant,” Vikkart said, “I will likely never fully recover.”

He smiled.

“Well played, Uhrrbet,” he said, “From the first move to the horrific last, masterfully done.”

Uhrrbet looked at him curiously. Of all the reactions, this was not one she expected.

“I am truly sorry to see you were also caught in the vortex,” he said.

“I am certain that you are not,” Uhrrbet replied.

“I truly am,” Vikkart said, “not only for that, but for everything.”

He looked down.

“I am so terribly sorry.”

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