Hardwired

[Fairchild]

Chapter 03: Sacrifice

She strolled slowly and peacefully through the illuminated white hallways of an art gallery. Located somewhere in Archer Park on Manhattan, she was not here of her own volition. But the professor asked nicely, so she agreed.

The gallery was rather large, hosting collections of ancient, pre-Sirian art replicas previously stored somewhere deep in the hard disks of the Sleeper Ships and later manually repainted, as well as many contemporary pieces from various corners of Sirius. The traditional canvas combined gracefully with holosculptures and neon colours of light paitings. She just looked, appreciating the beauty but not understanding the meaning. And through her eyes, the professor watched as well. They both communicated very little, without words. Sporadically one sent an emotion to the other, but that was it. Silent admiration.

After nearly two hours of sightseeing, she indicated that she needed a break. The professor agreed. She walked to a dispenser and waited a couple of seconds until it prepared her a hot cup of coffee. There was a small, round hall nearby, with a bench at the centre. As expected, a holosculpture appeared as she sat down.

The sculpture was a dome surrounding her, with many light reflections on its surface. Some larger, some smaller, they seemed to move chaotically around her, without a purpose or without a set path. She glanced around for several seconds, but every part of the dome was the same. After another couple of seconds, she lost interest. Her eyes became tired, so she closed them and sipped the coffee in silence.

After another silent minute she finally asked. "What now?" The professor indicated he didn't understand the question. "I mean, we've run from Atka. We have the original Vergil blueprints. We don't have the materials or equipment to replicate it. And Cryer is still on our tail. So: what now?"

The professor pondered for a minute. "Indeed... What now?... Well, perhaps I have lost touch with reality. Two years stuck in a jar, you know? Takes its toll."

She took a long pause. "You have me."

"It's not the same. I want out. I need out. I cannot constantly lean on other people. I cannot live like this."

"How?"

"I've thought about this. Chrome, for now. Until I can think of something better."

"Better?"

The professor hesitated. "I suppose you haven't heard of the Nisei Project back at Wisp?" After she denied, he continued. "It was a project started by one Cryer scientist named Ken Tenma. Its object was to engineer a fully functioning biological android, a clone if you prefer. When I worked at Wisp, I had a look at the archives and found this project, then took it up. It was a big one, and I had ideas on how to make it work. But then... you know."

"I know. So, chrome? You're sure?"

"I realise chrome can't be trusted, this is why I never allowed cybernetics in my research teams. Too easy to screw something up, too easy to backdoor, too easy this, too easy that. But really, do I have anything to lose? We all have to make sacrifices."

She finished her coffee. She noticed that for a while the little points on the dome stopped chasing each other and froze, placing themselves conveniently on the edge of her field of vision. Must have been a part of this piece of art. She made sure not to move her eyes.

After several more minutes of deep thought, she finally replied. "Chrome it is, then."

"For now though, let's see more of this place," the professor asked. She confirmed and stood up. The points on the dome started moving again, eventually dimming down and shutting itself off after she had left.