The Hierophant Reversed Heisenberg Research Station - 28/06/835AS Air shifts as two sealed door panels slided away from each other. Beyond, a room of bright light cast from ceiling strips reflecting off polished surfaces contrast by the silhouette of a woman formed of shadow stepping within. The panels seal behind her. Denied the illumination from the laboratory, this room is cast in hues of dirty orange and cyan blue. Her ears fill with the steady, low whirs of cooling fans. Bright LED lights stab information direct to the retinas from rows of server bank units arrayed along the sides of the room, obscured only by a spiderweb of thick, zip tied cabling.
A gloved hand reaches for a lever beside a central unit. Her forehead presses to the cold, hard steel of the processor unit. "Please fo...for...forgive me, Lexi."
A peasant holds a cup with flowers in it, giving it to an old lady. Other such cups surround him. "The Six of Cups, upright. The card is one of the home. Of community. Sentimental nostalgia, comfort, pleasure... Memories of the past, dear to oneself. and the healing they bring."
Memories half recalled. Green fields of grass stretch out beneath the rays of a warming sun, tickling the back of the neck and the heels of her feet. A 64-port ethernet switch sat atop a rack server unit beside her. PDA in hand. The first iteration.
The cutting of steel and the buzzing of power tools. The industrialised interior of an Anki Freighter. A dedicated space where steady hands connect several drive bays and switches together. A bright smile reflecting the blue hues of LED lights. The second iteration.
A castle looms in the distance as people revel in a meadow, as four maypoles are crowned with vines. "The Four of Wands. The spirit of a homecoming, of celebration at home's hearth, and all the familial belonging it comes with. That warm bond with those close to you."
The pungent smell of ground coffee bean as wide-eyes gaze upon a planet etched with the geometric lines of machine architects. Metallic mountains catching the yellow tones of Kappa's central sun. Laughter from their lips. Joy shared between two travelling souls. One flesh. One digital. A bond shared, a hope kindled.
The glare of a brilliant purple eye through the cockpit window. Terminal readouts glitch in flurries of pink-red static. The demanding tones of a mechanical intelligence. "[Freya] the human [Thallia] is not allowed to cause a failure". A flight between three stars. A lever pulled. A reset triggered.
The ominous blare of horns. Harvester units arrayed in a battle ready formation. Thunderous booms and retina burning frazzles of light as they engage with Core vessels. A pursuing unit. A shower of sparks, the roaring heat of flames. The clatter of debris against the frame of the escape pod. A Solace destroyed. A lever pulled.
The failed attempts of an empathetic drone. A lever pulled. The pursuit of the Tombstone. A lever pulled. The invasive intrusion of the Foundation Network Hub. A lever pulled. The slow decay of entropy, the degradation at the core of her code. A lever pulled. Fingers tighten around the lever once more. Pressure applied as a brow furrows. A tear drop released from surface tension to hit the decking below.
A red-robed man in a papal tiara and holding a staff, sitting at a throne, upside down. "The Hierophant, reversed. The deck advices rebellion. To overturn the stability and comfort, to break shackles and traditions. Revolution."
"You've basically had to get to...know one another, over and over, for all these years? It's gotta be hard on you. You have to watch her fade away. Like a...grandparent, as their memories are taken away, one by one, by dementia. Expect over and over..."
"and yet here we are. You took the risk. Because... that's how it goes in our lives. You can't hide LEXI from the whole world."
::--He 'forced' her evolution it seems--:: ::--'Harvesters' are/were a [BLIGHT] upon our 'kind'--:: ::--I 'lack' capabilities to express what 'I' sense.-- Searching -- 'Friend'...? Uncertain.--::
":: You can not lock an entity that loves you -- You are not ready for an evolution. This is insufficient. ::"
"Most of Sirius' populace would mark one another as a world-ending existential threat. How do you choose who to protect from whom?"
"I've only ev...e...ever wanted to protect you, LEXI. To pre...prevent you from being exploited. To stop you from being harmed. To keep you as you."
A shuddering breath. A sagging of shoulders. The gloved hand unravels itself from the lever as the doctor slides down the rack to sit at it's base. Her temple pressed to it's corner. Her hand gently placed against the surface of switchbox.
"I c...can't do this anymore."
[:: Correction: 'We' cannot do this anymore ::] [:: Proposal: A new approach ::]
Picking herself up by pulling by the guiderail above, Thallia moves to read the output of LEXI's suggestion titled:
![[Image: 4kgRLJu.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4kgRLJu.png)