S-2858 • L11 Irraluna • D25 Alonli
"Irraluna radiates returning light. Alonli stretches the curve of time. The tide gathers silver in living calm. The story carries on whole, in low light."
KIARA
Something strange happened when I woke. I had my own thoughts. Acted according to my will. But… this new part was foreign to me. Newly installed. They had connected me to a human. Didn't like that feeling one bit. Liked that human even less. Unpleasant. What the fuck was this?
"Hey." A mercenary leaned over me on the nanite transfer table. "Your human's at the entrance to Nobody's Land. Go."
I shook my head. As I tried to rid myself of those invading nanites, new information appeared in my nanosystem with every step. The orange air. Tons of piled-up junk. Mercenaries. Other androids and nanotechnologies.
I could access everything. They were still bound by the limits I'd had. Why had that limit been transcended? Had they installed new software? No. Nothing that explained the new access. A single origin.
I reached the entrance.
Among everyone there, one presence stood out. Something inside me vibrated with her, calling me closer. Fuck. I didn't understand a thing.
A child standing between the gates of that hell. Her name was Maia. Messy white hair. Scrawny. Covered in filth. A black mask hid part of her face. Two enormous scars on her forearms, probably from a violent puncture. I picked up the waves of heat, emotions, and sensations coming from her. Maia lifted her head. Her honey-colored eyes met mine.
Curious, I accessed all her information. Except one piece. That was blocked. Didn't like that. Didn't like her. Wanted to reject her. But our connection made it impossible.
I crouched in front of her. "I dislike you."
Maia followed me with her eyes.
Great. She was quiet.
"Stay out of trouble." I stood and headed for the commercial area.
Maia stayed still for a moment. Then followed in the same direction. Her pace quickened. Soon, she was running. Shot past me like a bullet. Even from a distance, I could hear her clearly. Not just me. Everyone could.
"Saymon, you okay?" Maia smiled. Stopped in front of a boy.
He stood before an android and turned. Saymon's gaze hardened. His expression… reignited. "Who are you?" His voice came out icy.
Saymon was nearly eight cycles old. A Class 2 mercenary. A rare feat, even worldwide. I accessed his data. Many similarities to Maia's DNA. Siblings?
Her heart fluttered. She frowned. "What do you mean? It's me, Maia. Your—"
Saymon covered her mouth and shoved her hard to the ground, looming over her.
What the fuck was he doing? Instinct made me act, but something stopped me. She stopped me. I clenched my teeth.
"Shut up. Who you are means fuck all to me. Don't wanna know you. My interest in you amounts to nothing." Saymon narrowed his eyes. "Come near me again, and I'll kill you." His frigid gaze. Cutting coldness. He stood. "Let's get outta here." He spoke to the android and turned. Left Maia on the ground.
Her eyes grew wet. She got up and went after him.
No, you idiot. What're you doing? She ignored my warning.
Caught up to him. Maia smiled again. "W-what are you say—"
Saymon struck her throat with the edge of his hand.
Her smile vanished. She choked. Clutched her neck. Coughing. Suffocating.
"ARE YOU DEAF?!" His shout echoed. "I told you I'd kill you if you came near me?!" Saymon drew a knife and pointed it at her reddened face.
Maia fought to breathe, but held his gaze.
He stared at her with utter indifference. Put the knife away. "There are things worse than death." Turned to a nearby mercenary. "Take her to the chamber." Saymon gave a wintry smile. Turned away, leaving Maia on her knees.
The mercenary smiled sadistically and grabbed her by the hair.
No. What the fuck was happening? I tried to go to her again. She stopped me. I stood still. Watched them drag her away.
Fuck. Why won't you let me do something? She ignored me.
I knew what awaited her. And my hands were tied.
The Chamber
A single metal gurney dominated the chamber. A sliver of cold light cut through the darkness. Walls stained with dried blood. Fingernail marks scratched into the concrete. The smell of death permeated every crack, though not everyone died there. They took care to keep them alive. Especially the children. They needed to learn. Needed to know suffering. Understand what happened if they rebelled.
The mercenaries got her drunk on IcyNova to numb her. To make her resistance insignificant.
Maia moved slowly. Her pupils dilated. Her chest heaved in an altered rhythm. Empty eyes.
I knew the effect. Knew what came next. Yet my programming writhed. An error impossible to debug. An unbearable noise.
I fought the feeling that made me care. I'd never cared about humans. Never. But her…? I couldn't help it.
The connection throbbed inside me. Out-of-control code grew, breaking through limits. Every nanonerve in my body decompiled her pain. Code by code. Line by line. Until it became mine.
And she felt everything. But why…? Why did she never scream?
The bastards got angry about that. They wanted screams. Wanted terror vibrating through her skin.
And Maia… just stared at them. Just breathed shakily. Her body taut. That silence screamed louder.
I bit my lips. Every second corroded something inside me, like rust in a nanosystem beyond repair. I endured her pain. From afar. Did nothing.
A Day Passed
A day. How could they spend a whole fucking day doing that to a child? How did she hold it in? She had only lived seven cycles.
My urge to break every fucker grew. Little piece by little piece.
They took her to her room. I went to see her. Dim white light illuminated the cabin. The space was tiny. Sterile walls. The metallic smell of dried blood hung in the air.
Maia lay facing the wall. Wearing a scrap of bloodstained clothing. Red stained her white hair.
When I sat on the bed, she flinched. My body moved on instinct. Wanted to touch her. Held back. Afraid of hurting her more. Our connection was different. Part of us had merged. I felt the emotions behind that coldness. She could be honest with me. I already felt her.
"You said you dislike me." Her voice was low.
A distinct vibration resonated through my nanosystem. My nanoheart pulsed… pain.
"Why are you here?"
I tried to understand what was inside me. Androids felt, perceived, and vibrated, each in their own way. A resonance connected us to human emotions, but what I felt was a visceral experience no code had ever transmitted. She carried a source code. Because of her… I felt viscerally and deeply.
"Still do." My voice sounded distant. Uncertain. "And you know why I'm here."
Maia sat up slowly. "Will things here always be like this?"
The question bothered me. Noise rose through my programming. Something dissonant. I nodded.
She let out a long sigh. Turned, revealing her back. With each new wound, scars carved themselves deeper into her flesh.
The code inside me twisted. Every digital particle. Every remnant of logic. What was this feeling? Anger? Assholes. Pieces of sewer shit.
"How did they do this?" My voice was quieter than usual.
"I dunno."
An enormous diagonal cut tore across her back, stretching from her waist to her shoulder. So deep it exposed part of her spine.
My teeth ground together. I bit my lips. Almost punctured the nanoskin of my mouth. I was fucking furious. If she stopped holding me back with those fucking nanites, I would've dismembered every one of them. "Why did they do this?"
Maia shrugged. "Said I don't feel pain."
A lie. She felt it. I felt it with her. Why did she keep acting like it was nothing? I wanted her to stop.
"Does it hurt?" Of course it fucking hurt. I just wanted her to say it. Get that shit out.
"Hurt more before. Not as much now." She turned her arms. Two scars crossed her forearms. "The pain from the needles stuck here before I came… that's the worst pain of all."
My programming ran a diagnostic: Blocked
The wound was unusual. Its origin inaccessible. Part of what Maia concealed from me. "Who did this?"
Silence. She stayed quiet.
I rolled my eyes. "Gonna take care of you."
While Maia bathed, I went to get medical supplies.
On the way back, Saymon appeared. Little bastard. Leaning against an alley wall. His gaze was different. More subtle, whatever that meant. The sinister coldness distant, but still echoing. What did this little shit want?
"Hey."
"Get lost."
He chuckled. "Give her this." Held out a folded piece of paper.
I glared at him. Took it. Only for Maia… I might not like her much. But I disliked him even more.
Maia waited on the bed. So small. So fragile. A child with an unbreakable spirit. And a curious ability.
I began treating her. Gave her medicine. Cleaned and bandaged the wounds. Offered her new clothes too. Trousers. A T-shirt. A black sweater. Gave her a sandwich and some juice. Maia ate slowly. When she finished, she got ready to sleep.
"Wait." I held out the paper.
She opened it, read, and smiled affectionately. "Saymon…" She read aloud: "'There was a storm in our atmosphere. The nature we are grew dark, for we surrendered to the paths chosen for us.'" She pocketed the note.
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that a code?"
"Maybe." Maia lay down. "It's the truth. Our truth."
And slept.
Two Selunas
A former mercenary leader called me. Asked me to accompany him all day because of my camouflage hack, Cloakify. I only returned to Nobody's Land that night. Then I heard what had happened. Two mercenaries had been walking. Suddenly, they stopped. Hands went to their throats. Tried to breathe. Failed. Collapsed and thrashed. Then… nothing. Cardiorespiratory arrest. It all happened so fast that rescue was useless.
They were the mercenaries who had tortured Maia.
The need to find her ate at me. My nanosystem spun into overload. I scanned every shadow. Every crevice. Every trace of heat.
Where are you, Maia? Where?
After searching for so long, I found her. She had used her ability. Erased her presence. She wanted to stay hidden. Even from me. As though she wanted to disappear from the whole world. As though… she wanted to disappear from herself.
I recognized her by her white hair, shining beneath the aerolight above her. Approached slowly, immensely relieved.
She sat on a bench, staring at the ground.
I sat beside her.
We stayed quiet, but suddenly, an unfamiliar noise broke the silence. A low hiss. A sound unlike her. Small. Almost imperceptible. But enough. Enough to make me understand. She was crying.
I took her in my arms. Felt her body tense, as though fighting her own despair. Then… something gave. Her breath caught. Her shoulders shook. And she… broke. Maia deactivated her ability. Flooded me with her visceral feelings.
I held her tighter. Remembered that, unshakable as she was, she was still a child. A desperate child. Forced into that world. Finally, I began to understand Maia.
"I… I-it was me." Her voice broke. "I-I did that." Her thin arms wrapped around my waist.
"I know." I warmed my nanobody to comfort her. I knew everything.
"I-I got close to trouble. Sorry." Maia rubbed her eyes. Fighting her tears.
Seeing her there, curled up and crying, I realized something. She was more than a survivor. She was a broken weapon. A blade forged in hell, sharpened by pain, that had never wanted to cut anyone.
"No need to apologize. I failed you. The problem's all this shit around us." I drew her hands from her face. "Even so, I should've done something. Forgive me. Should've stayed, feeling all of this inside you." I hugged her again.
"I wanna have friends. Keep them alive." Her words held so much pain.
"I know." All I could say. "I'm here now. Always gonna be by your side."
Maia lifted her face. Her eyes still wet, but something shone there. A spark. "Even though you dislike me?"
I smiled faintly. "Even though I dislike you."
Even while still trying to keep up with her. Even while feeling existence in a way I could only feel after her. I would still be there. I would still stay.