Visisonor's blog

Chapter 6

I remember waking up in softly-lit twilight. A familiar figure came into view when I opened my eyes.

- Hey, Vee, - I yawned seeing her turning from the laptop. - I had the weirdest dream. You were wounded, I was arrested, and a syncon rescued me from prison and… Oh.

Then it dawned on me: I remembered remembering other stuff, so my experience should more or less match that of whoever is reading this. It wasn’t a dream. But before I woke up I had to fall asleep somehow, and I actually blacked out. This is how it went - a few hours earlier, back in the “spaceship” hall.

…

- No, no, - I shook my head. - You can’t be Villa. You must be…
- Vera - finished she. And added - Did Villa tell you about me?
- Actually, she didn’t. Wolf told me you were sisters but he never mentioned that you were twin sisters!
- Ah, that’s so like him, - smiled Vera.

I studied her closely as she approached. They looked uncannily similar. Yet there were some differences, so elusive one had to specifically look for them, and I wouldn’t be able to tell who of them is who even if I’ve noticed these subtleties.

- So you are alive, - I felt awkward, stating the obvious. - I mean, I’ve seen your file…
- And it said I was dead.
- Yes. No. Well, it showed “killed” in web UI but underlying API returned “missing” status…
- Oh, - Vera sounded confused.
- So they knew! - I continued, giggling madly. - Bastards. The MIA status is a ruse!

- She does not seem well, - Tess’ voice sounded distant and weak.
- It means “defected to the enemy”, - I continued, the world around me spinning in a blur. - Hidden in plain sight! All this time! And once I’ve learned it, they disposed of me!

Somewhere around this point everything went black. Someone caught me falling and lowered me on the floor. Then nothing. Apparently my brain shut down from overload. Growing hunger could have been a contributing factor too.

…

- How do I load my last quicksave? - I groaned, lying back.
- Hey, it’s not that bad, - Vera offered me a hand. - Would you rather keep living in a lie?
- I guess you are right, - I took her hand, sitting up again. - I’d take the red pill any time.

I refrained from adding “if a choice was offered”. It wasn’t Vera’s fault that I didn’t have a choice.

- We need to get you something to eat. Do you feel well enough to walk?
- Yeah, I’m fine. Mostly. I could really use a drink though.
- Can be arranged, - she grinned.

…

The early morning breakfast was surprisingly well made, and absolutely welcome. Just when we finished, another girl walked in silently.

She looked at me - or rather in my direction, her eyes focused somewhere behind my head - and proclaimed:

- One more soul to the call, for all in silence comes.
- Um, hi, - I said uncertainly. - What does it mean?
- Kate, this is Linda. Linda, this is Kate, - intervened Vera.
- One day, someday you know I will see you again, - said Linda, nodding subtly.

Then she took my glass, drained it and went off.

- Is there anything… wrong with her? - I asked, following her with my eyes.
- Nobody knows. They say she’s lost everything, and her mind kind of snapped.

Vera paused for a second or two, seemingly hesitating. Then added:

- I was afraid you’d end up like her when you passed out.
- Is it so common?
- No, but neither is losing consciousness. Your circumstances were different for sure. Usually people are left for dead, often wounded or unconscious, there is some time to heal and adjust. But being charged with treason - that’s new. And we didn’t know what exactly you’ve learned to trigger your arrest, and how it could affect you.

I gave it some thought. Were these recent revelations sufficient for me to lose my marbles? It was certainly enough to knock me out. Machines trying in vain to withdraw from the war was a mind-screwing concept, and Vera being alive and well drove home the point that something was off in our official picture. Still, her presence only proved that our database was inaccurate. Coupled with my alleged treason charge, it strongly suggested that this inaccuracy was introduced deliberately by someone in our command. But it did not, technically, prove syncons’ recount of the war…

- It was brilliant, by the way, - Vera’s words brought me back to the present.
- What exactly?
- Looking at API requests, - she clarified. - Nobody thought of it before. But after you’ve mentioned the status being different, I was able to confirm your findings.
- Oh. So you can access the MPDB from here?
- In theory. But I’d rather not. It can be traced much more easily. I’ve studied network traffic dumps while you were asleep.

- I need to know what it says about Villa, - I leaned forward over the table. - She can be in trouble because I was suspected of treason.
- I would have seen it. Similar to how we’ve learned about your detention.
- I’d rather double-check, - I insisted.
- The status won’t reflect it right away, even if something happened. Look, I worry about her too. She is my sister after all. By the way, I’d like to thank you for taking care of her.
- It’s more like she was taking care of me, really, - I commented sadly.
- You’ve saved her life, - Vera pointed out.
- But she still ended up… - I froze mid-sentence.

This exchange brought back something that was troubling me right before Vera appeared.

- Now, where are our new robot overlords? - I asked. - I need to have a word with them.