Irreversibly contaminated. For Bialar Crais, the site of Gemmi's coppery hair spread across the pillow still calls that phrase to mind. It has no meaning now. He is no longer a Peacekeeper, or even a Sebaccean. Gemmi and the other Kalish scientists created this body and transferred his consciousness to it. Worse, no matter how much Gemmi enjoys playing with her creation, it belongs to the Scarrans. It is the set of traps inside his mind, not the touch of Kalish flesh, that compromises him. Still, old prejudice lingers, a testament to the success of the data transfer.
Gemmi opens her eyes and smiles up at him. "You're brooding again."
"You seem pleased about that." He sits down on the edge of the bed.
"I was in charge of data verification. Whenever I see you behaving in such a Sebaccean manner, it confirms my success. Perhaps I should begin recording all of your activity to show my supervisors." There is a note of tension in her voice.
"They question the project?" Bialar keeps his tone casual, though in truth he is alarmed. If the project is terminated, he and Talyn will be as well.
"They have managed to access more of the data spools recovered from the command carrier. Not all of them were from Talyn. There are recordings of Bialar Crais that show him exhibiting behavior- how did they put it?- unlikely to fall within the parameters of function for Bioloid 354."
"I see." He sighs. "They wonder if Crichton will recognize me without the irrational vendetta and habitual bouts of rage? And yet they tell me any act of violence will trigger a self-destruct sequence that will affect not only my body but Talyn's as well. They doom their own project to failure either way."
"No one ever said Scarrans were rational. But for myself, I want to know-- did I succeed?"
Bialar's smile is one of genuine amusement. One of the gifts his new perspective has brought him is the ability to appreciate irony. "To answer that, remove the safeguards and count how many Scarrans I kill in my escape."
She swallows. Her eyes are wide with a mixture of curiosity and fear. "Only Scarrans?"
"Kalish are intelligent enough to stay out of my way." He runs a finger from the tip of her chin to her temple, and then taps her forehead gently. "Correct?"
She nods slowly as she studies his face. "I think you would shoot me without hesitation or remorse if you thought it would help you escape with Talyn."
"That is not the case." He squeezes her bare shoulder and bends to bring his face closer to hers. "I would regret the necessity of harming you. Even Peacekeepers have some fondness for their recreation partners."
"You would 'regret the necessity'?" She repeats his words in a high, mocking pitch, shaking her head in disbelief. "You truly are Bialar Crais."
"I never claimed otherwise," he reminds her.
"You're cold and calculating enough to be Kalish and hot-blooded enough to be Scarran." She sits up with a smile. "Your personality is so defective it could only arise naturally. And I," her grin broadens, and she wraps her arms around his neck, "am a genius!"
"Indisputably," he agrees.
"It's never been done before, you know. Full transfer of consciousness from a semi-intelligent being to a data spool to a bioloid." She slides onto his lap and leans back, her head titled slightly as she studies his face. "I saw the data chips of Crais. Jayza did a commendable job with your appearance. But the truly brilliant work was mine." She laces her fingers behind his neck and kisses him.
Taking advantage of his bioloid strength, he seizes her wrists and pulls her hands apart, then pushes her away as he stands. He does not like being someone else's creation. He was a Peacekeeper too long, and Peacekeepers do not waste time praising their makers. "I was my own man long before I was your work, Gemmi. Forget that and you have lost my friendship. I have no use for a smirking, red-headed goddess demanding tribute."
She winces and rubs her left wrist, then her right. "Where are you going?"
"Most likely? To pull Talyn out of whatever trouble he's gotten himself into."
"I could help you with him," she offers. "It's a matter of altering algorithms. I do it with bioloids all the time."
"You have made that offer before. My answer is the same: Let Talyn be himself."
"He frightens me, Bialar."
"Strange sentiments, coming from you. Did you not just crawl into my lap after I told you I would kill you?" He shakes his head in puzzlement. In the dark, she feels Sebaccean. Even now, she almost looks Sebaccean, but Gemmi's mind is undeniably alien.
She sighs in frustration. "You are primarily a rational creature. You act in your own best interests, and as long as I know what those interests are, I can avoid provoking you. Talyn..." she shakes her head. "Talyn is chaotic. If he were Kalish, he might be sent to a Nebari mind-cleansing station, or he might simply be... disposed of."
"His continued well being is a condition of my cooperation."
"I know, I know!" She holds up her hands, palms out. "It is just that he causes you so much grief, and I could fix it so easily! I don't understand why you won't let me help."
He chuckles. "If you understood me, I would not be Bialar Crais. And you could not take credit for my resurrection."