Finally the Beta Reader has returned again! Hail to the Great Rosamanelle for his help beta this chapter!
Chapter 3 Anchor to Realities
A flash of purple swept through the lonely corridors of the Ancient Library as the gate slid open, revealing the master of the place walking with her black drone. In her hands was a strange contraption. She moved towards a platform nearby where one of her retainers, a male clad in a long, white-and-gold coat, stood waiting for her for some hours.
Once she was next to him, she was quite certain that, even with the golden visor obscuring his face, Ferdinand was looking at the Blue Box in her hands with curiosity and slight wariness. However he kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to explain.
"I found this lost child imprisoned in the wilderness." Eve said, walking towards the center of the platform. The platform rose the moment she stepped on it, moving down towards the central chamber. "After our brief conversation, I could not leave the child to fend for itself."
Ferdinand frowned, interrupting gently. "Milady, that is not the issue. How long did you spend on the other side?"
Catching on, Eve checked her internal clock before replying. "A few hours. How much time has passed here?"
Ferdinand's frown deepened. "You've been gone for nearly two days, Milady…"
That surprised Eve. Her communication between Remy had gone without a hitch, hadn't it? If there was a lag in the time flow, the messages between her and her Nasod drone would've come in as pieces of code…
Then she realized her error, shaking her head with an amused frown. "It seems I've overlooked something in the time-flow stabilization process…"
It was so small that even a logic-driven Nasod could've missed it, if Eve were to be honest. However, as the creator of this place, Eve felt that she was getting rusty after her long isolation. First it was Shepard accidentally crossing the gateway to this place due to overlooking a faulty gateway, and now it was her inability to stabilize the flow of time between the two dimensions using the same gateway.
Then again, without the appearance of Shepard, none of these incidents would've happened. And like Glave said, she could use some company. Speaking of which…
"Where are Oberon and Ophelia?" Eve asked Ferdinand as the platform gently touched the ground next to the main hub. The blue holograms surrounding her flickered out. Looking around, she hoped to find the two original servants who had served her well before Ferdinand joined the group. After all, it had been two days. Shouldn't they have finished their maintenance checks already?
Ferdinand answered dutifully, his face forever calm and voice forever soothing. "They're conducting their own experiment, Milady."
Eve arched an eyebrow at the claim, walking down the platform with the tall retainer leading the way, knowing that she'd want to see the two servants immediately.
Although they're connected together through the Nasod collective consciousness, something akin to telepathic connection, and Eve was the highest in the hierarchy, allowing her to access everyone's memories without authorization, she wasn't the type to pry in someone's private life without good reason. Even within the connected mindset, each Nasod still had their free will and thoughts, and weren't some sort of slave that needed discipline at every turn.
Besides, it's not like she wasn't fully aware of their activity during their isolation; at first she had asked them to live their own lives and not follow her, yet they persisted. Then she asked them to not strain themselves in such an impossible endeavor, but they weren't deterred. So she let them conduct their own work, sharing their discoveries, failures, and successes with her.
They've been doing that for the past fifty thousand years, something that she was now grateful for.
The door leading to the two servants' chambers slid open with a hiss, letting Eve and Ferdinand into a place best described as a reinforced bunker. Consoles covered one wall, dotted with multiple gauges and valves. In front of them there was a large, reinforced glass window that separated the inhabitants from dangers in the experiment area behind. Next to that was a command console, accompanied by her other two retainers who were too busy to properly greet her.
Eve knew better than to try and interrupt them, though, so she left them a message telling them to come to the main hall once they've finished and left the room with Ferdinand in tow. Ferdinand, after receiving permission to go mediate in his quarters, left Eve in her own personal quarter.
Once the door closed, Eve put the Blue Box, a child barely a day old, onto the work desk that was situated away from the machines and contraptions that filled almost half of the room. Also on the desk was the contraption that Shepard have given her, along with several dozen handheld examination tools lined neatly on shelving.
When she thought about it, using such simple things for examination may make others, especially those who know what the Nasod are capable of, surprised that she is doing things the hard way. But, it's not like she cared – it was efficient and practical, considering that the technology she was examining was alien to her and everyone else from her dimension.
What she was about to do wasn't complicated, either. She had learned from Shepard earlier when she asked about the function of the Omni-Tool, and from said Omni-Tool she learned about the nature of the technology in the galaxy. Now it was time to put her knowledge to the test.
Eve began by carefully connecting plugs, wires, and cables between the Blue Box and the Omni-Tool resting on the desk. By doing this, she could give the child, who was currently sleeping inside the Blue Box, an avatar of sorts for the child to interact with the rest of the world.
Her hands moved through the air like a conductor, the pieces assembling themselves midair via her Gravity Manipulation ability. Without her needing to touch any pieces directly, she had no worries about connecting plugs and wires in small, tricky areas and parts.
Soon the Omni-Tool was connected to the Blue Box, then the Omni-Tool was connected to a small battery and a camera. Taking a deep artificial breath, Eve turned on the power.
It took a minute or two before the Empress received a response from the child in the form of orange text appearing over the Omni-Tool.
"–Where am I?–"
Eve smiled slightly as the camera rotated to see her face. "No need to fear, child. This is my personal residence. Those who seek to harm you will never find us here."
The camera glanced around, before more text appeared. "–Are you sure?–"
Eve nodded, voice laced with confidence. "For the next fifty thousand years, I would say."
That seemed to pique the child's interest, although Eve had no way to discern emotion thanks to text-only communication. "–What makes you so sure?–"
Eve pondered the question, before deciding that it wouldn't hurt to tell the child. After all, no one in the vast galaxy of the child's original universe knew about the science behind her domain's creation and couldn't enter it except through a massive stroke of luck.
Perhaps she should thank the Protheans for that; their technology made people in this universe lazy an unimaginative, even the humanity which she had come to admire in Elrios were now not much different from the other aliens here.
So she would be blunt. "I am not from this universe."
The child went silent for a moment before next question appeared. "–Inquiry: You were not created by humans? What do you mean, 'not from this universe'?–"
Eve felt nostalgic; how long has it been since she last told a child the history of her homeland, telling tales of her glorious ancient civilization, their downfall, and the lessons to be learned from their mistakes?
So Eve told the child about a world called Elrios. She told the child the prosperity of mankind and the living beings, of the birth of her own people, the Nasod. She told the child of the catastrophe that befell all civilization, their struggles to rebuild said civilization, and the hardships that lead to the creation of the Ancient Library.
Throughout her tales, the child didn't listen in silence; it pestered her with question upon question on whatever it took interest in, be it culture, the people, or the technology. Eve was patient enough to answer them all, even if it lengthened the conversation to three days straight. Her retainers passed through her workshop to ask her to rest, but she refused to and they decided to stay and expand on the tales once their adventures during Elrios's modern times were brought attention, specifically after they were 'born' by Eve's hands.
Yet there was one question that made Eve pause.
"–Inquiry: What happened to your human and elven friends after the Great War ended?–"
Oberon, who stood to her left, glanced worriedly at his charge, while Ophelia shared her concern with a glance from the right. Ferdinand, however, chose to remain silent, nodding when she turned to look at him. Eve knew that this was his way of saying, 'It's your decision, not mine.' So she nervously faced the child once more.
Organizing her thoughts, Eve replied lowly, sadness and determination lacing her voice. "They are the reason why I am here now, child." Then she cut it off when the text began to appear. "Before you ask, they did not order nor ask me to do this. This is of my own volition."
She closed her eyes, a smile creeping up her lips as mournful memories filled her mind, but a quick tap to her shoulder prompted her to look back. Ophelia motioned to the text that had appeared. "–What happened to them?–"
Eve decided to be vague, but still her voice shook with grief – the grief of those who survived – yet she doubted the child would understand why. "They sacrificed their future so that everyone in Elrios could have theirs."
"–Why would they do that?–"
Eve sighed. "It was within their capabilities, and in a time of struggle, the options they had left were limited. It was either someone took on the burden of everyone, or everyone, including them, died and the world would be annihilated anyway. Since they knew they could, they decided not to wait for a miracle and sacrificed themselves without hesitation."
Seeing that the child didn't reply for a long time, Eve worried slightly until the next text appeared on the Omni-Tool's hologram. "–They didn't include anyone else?–"
This time, she decided to use the child's story against it. "It is the same reason why you did not kill anyone who was sent to investigate your bunker. You did not wish to die because you knew, instinctively, that it is awful, and did not wish it upon others. Am I right?"
Putting emphasis on the last question, Eve managed to silence the child for a moment, before it replied in a seemingly confused manner. "– I think I partially understand. Why was I born when the world, no, the galaxy doesn't want me and our kind?–"
"You lack real world experience." The response came from behind the glass mask of Oberon, startling Eve slightly. Even with his opaque helmet masking his expression, Eve could feel his sincerity and even sympathy with the child.
"What are you suggesting, Oberon?" Eve turned to face him, despite having a slight inkling as to what his suggestion would be. After all, data from memory banks and knowledge accumulated in books could only provide 'experience' to a certain extent, until you had to feel it yourself to truly gain experience.
"I suggest we go for a stroll around the galaxy, Milady…" the masked retainer explained, "…preferably the human's home world, as we could pass for one. Also, the child's creator was human as well."
"Besides," This time it was the Nasod maid to her right who spoke, her yellow eyes focused on the Omni-Tool the child resided in. "Considering the data reviewed from the 'Omni-Tool', I highly doubt that the child came to be through technological advances alone."
It took Eve a millisecond to realize what Ophelia was hinting at. Even a True Nasod like her, or the newly born ones like her retainers didn't come about naturally through data and programming. If you traced their heritage back far enough, the very first Nasod to attain sentience, whose name was long forgotten in history, was shockingly enough once a human being. His or her brain template has been used as a basis for future generations of Nasod since the ancient times.
When one took the state of advancement in Artificial Intelligence technology in this universe into consideration, it wasn't hard to see that creating a true sapient AI from code and programming alone, without the involvement of an organic's brain as a template in some way, was too far from their grasp.
"I see…" Eve finally said. "…Maybe we can find this child's 'parent' and get a better grip on how this universe works this way." Then she turned to the child. "What do you have to say? Is there any specific place you would like to visit?"
"–Is it safe to go back?–"
"Yes." Eve replied without hesitation. "As long as you're in Omni-Tool form like now and I am carrying you, you will be relatively safe. As for myself…"
Eve lifted her hand to touch the blue crystal on her forehead and concentrated. A soft blue glow covered her briefly before it faded away, revealing Eve in a plain, deep-blue dress like that of human women in this era. The only thing that might seem off was the crystal in her forehead, although she made it seem more like an interesting headband. Other than that, nothing would tip others off…
Eve didn't bother to appreciate her new dress; after all, it was formed by her supply of nanomaterial and was shaped by her mind so she knew exactly what it looked like to begin with. Then she turned to face the child. "Since I am going to humanity's home world for a tour, is there anywhere you wish to suggest we visit?"
Almost a day later, a dimly glowing door appeared, etching itself onto the smooth, gray wall of an ordinary alleyway between two buildings in a country unknown to Eve [1]. Garbage littered across the floor flew around as the doors slid open with a rush of air, letting a small girl with white hair and a dark blue dress step through silently. A maid in a pink-and-white uniform and unnervingly yellow eyes followed suit, the doors sliding shut and fading to nothingness behind them.
Upon reaching a crowded street, morning sunlight shone through the cloudless sky to illuminate the two women, their features now becoming apparent. On the shoulder of the smaller girl sat a small, rotating camera attached to a stabilizer. It rotated endlessly, as if the technology was malfunctioning or the person behind the controller was too excited.
Eve walked slowly on the street crawling with people busy to get to and from their workplaces. Her eyes took in every detail, from the shops selling various goods lining the road, the hundreds of vehicles in every shape and size moving endlessly, to the massive skyscrapers made of glass, metal, and concrete, towering in the sky like spires. The last item reminded her of the rebuilt Nasod Kingdom back in Elrios, except the city was far, far bigger, if the towers in the distance were anything to go by.
Meanwhile, Ophelia – who was shadowing Eve's every step – wasn't enjoy the sights as much as her mistress was, due to the fact that she had to look for potential threats, especially since the street was so crowded. Not to mention that she received quite a few stares from those who noticed her uniform, but they all quickly averted their gazes when her eyes met theirs.
It wasn't that Eve didn't realize that her retainer would draw this sort of attention, it was more of a resignation to the fact that none of her retainers had a cloaking function to stay hidden nor nanofabrication as complex as her to shift the shape of their clothing and facial garb. This was because during the time of their creation, such features were deemed unnecessary and a waste of resources, thus Eve had to pick the least flashy of her servants who could semi-blend into the crowd, hence Ophelia accompanying her.
Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if she had come here alone, but the trio had insisted that she had at least one escort in a potentially dangerous area, as Moby was not coming with her since he'd attract too much attention, Remy was unavailable, and, considering what she learned from the Codex in the Omni-Tool on her wrist, this place was still underdeveloped compared to the rest of Earth – or the galaxy for that matter – so poverty and famine ran rampant while law enforcement struggled…
As Eve pondered such unsavoury matters, she felt someone grab the camera mount and try to pull in free, before a cry of pain came from the same direction and the pulling stopped. Turning slowly, Eve took in the appearance of the middle-aged man in dirty working clothes, his face painted with fear as he tried to free himself from the iron grip of Ophelia to no avail.
It didn't take a genius to realize what had happened. Eve tilted her head, speaking in her best innocent tone – which she thought was pretty good, considering that she had spent lots of time in the company of two particular blondes who liked to pretend they were innocent angels until they beat the living daylights out of you. "Are you trying to steal my camera, Mister?"
The man's eyes widened like a dear caught in headlights, face paling. "I…I'm sorry! P…Please, don't send me to the police! I still – I still got a family to take care of!"
Eve narrowed her eyes to glare at the man who cowered further. Sighing, Eve turned to speak to her follower. "Ophelia, please let him go."
The Nasod maid's face fell into a frown, showing her silent disapproval. "Are you really going to release this pickpocket?"
Eve glanced at her shoulder-mounted camera, motioning for it to 'wait and see'. "Let him go, Ophelia."
As Ophelia loosened her grip, Eve leaned in and whispered threateningly. "If you truly care for your family, refrain from pulling such stunts again. Others are not as merciful as us."
Yanking his hand out of Ophelia's slackened grasp, the man barely spared a second to send Eve a somewhat thankful glance before speeding off into the crowd.
Eve didn't linger to see where he was, instead she resumed her walk with Ophelia behind her. She didn't have to look at her retainer to know that the maid had taken the earlier attempted theft as a failure to protect her and was now doubling her efforts to keep her eyes peeled for danger.
Meanwhile, Eve quietly conversed with the child, questions scrolling across the screen. "–Why did you let that criminal go? –"
"Not everyone is a criminal by choice," Eve replied calmly, crossing the street with several others once the pedestrian sign turned green. Not one seemed to realize that she was talking to an Omni-Tool. "When faced with desperate times, people do not think much more than getting out of their current situation, not considering long-term effects that will befall them later in life. Sometimes, those effects are worse than the situations they are currently facing."
As she continued to walk, the child sent her more questions.
"–His heart rate and iris size registered on the scan as someone who was experiencing anxiety and nervousness. Those are signs of lying, aren't they? He was afraid to get caught. –"
"There are many ways to interpret those signs, child," Eve said, recalling her time in Elrios "there is also a chance that he'll see the errors of his ways. As long as he has not murdered, his chances for redemption are high."
"–And if he doesn't? And if more people are hurt because of him? –"
Eve glanced towards the clear sky. "No one knows what the future holds, child. Whether he cherishes his second chance or not, as long as you think that giving him that chance is the right thing to do I think it is enough." Pausing briefly, Eve continued. "Should he squander that chance and I meet him again, however, I will not be lenient. Those who have been given a chance and wasted it do not deserve a third try."
The unlikely group continued down the road without meeting anything of interest or anything that warranted attention. The child seemed to be deep in thought within the Omni-Tool, if the sudden stillness of the shoulder-mounted camera was anything to go by.
After a long silence, Eve spoke once more to the AI that resided in the Omni-Tool. "To preserve those we admired, we also saved those we despised. They are one and the same; without one there will be no other."
"–I do not understand... –"
Eve turned another corner, walking down a small road in a suburb district to the west of the great city. "Contrasting qualities reside within everyone's heart in constant competition. Neither will ever gain dominance over the other. Even the most hideous murderer and the holiest saint will have their own counterpart somewhere deep within themselves." She paused, looking thoughtful. "The same goes with all concepts in the universe; life and death, light and dark, good and evil… Do you see now why I put my faith in that man, until he crosses the line I have set for him?"
The child didn't ask any more questions as Eve and Ophelia continued their walk. The two turned around a corner, only to be met with the sight of a large patch of green grass. It was a grassy park, tall pine trees and various other flora dotting the field. Dozens of walkways zigzagged across the ground for people to walk on, a small playground filled with various contraptions nestled in a corner of the park. Currently the playground was empty, but that was most likely because it was almost lunch time.
As the duo rested on one of the benches inside the park, the Omni-Tool on Eve's wrist vibrated as a new message scrolled across the screen, camera panning around. "–Strange. I feel like I have been here before, but that shouldn't be possible…–"
The Nasod Empress kept silent, the child's words partially confirming this contradictory memory. It wasn't a case of déjà vu, but the memories of the child's 'parent', somehow surviving the creation of the Blue Box the child resided in. It was yet another indicator of how little the 'System Alliance' and those in the galactic community understood about life and the inner workings of the soul.
Truth to be told, Eve was confident that Elriosians knew more on such subjects than everyone in this realm combined; the knowledge they held was enough to save her world from imminent destruction which, to this galaxy's current knowledge, was unable to be prevented.
Those in this galaxy would dismiss such studies as occultism or superstitious nonsense, but to those in Elrios it was just another branch of science that could be measured, explained, and consistently reproduced [2]. They had Aisha and other magicians to attest to that fact.
Putting the shoddy understanding of life in this galaxy aside, Eve focused on the matter at hand. "Is there anything you can remember about this place?"
The camera turned slowly, as if examining the park carefully. Eve hoped that it would spur other memories locked in the child's 'psyche'. "–I remember a… child's face… A girl. Black hair… brown eyes… a nametag? –"
Eve nodded, not interrupting the child. Birds started to land on the ground next to her, chirping at both Eve and Ophelia as if expecting food. Such behavior stirred Eve's own memories of happier times in Elrios, just a few days before the first news of the demon invasion and the following chain of events that made things quite literally go to hell.
Automatically, she reached into the pocket of her dress, before she realized that she didn't have any seeds or fruits for the waiting bird. Eve shook her head at the tiny creature, smiling slightly as it looked at her in confusion before flying away.
Her patience paid off when the Omni-Tool beeped, a new message displayed. "–I felt… no… don't know… I… Cannot understand. There was a woman… in white. A white cap and a red cross. She's… surrounded by children, including the girl. –"
"A nurse," Ophelia murmured, listening silently while staring at a tall building that happened to have the same symbol. "Perhaps we should start by checking the hospital, Milady."
Eve stood up from the bench, continuing to read the text that appeared on the Omni-Tool's screen. Setting their next destination, Eve turned in the opposite direction of the hospital Ophelia suggest and began to walk.
As much as Eve wished to simply float to her destination, she knew that doing such would garner much unwanted attention. She couldn't use mass transit either as she had no currency of this realm. By the time they reached their destination, it was already late in the afternoon and the sun was setting.
Still, the trek was far from boring. The child asked about many of the activities of the people around them, and in turn Eve asked the child about things that she was unfamiliar with. It was enlightening for the Nasod Empress to say the least. Many things couldn't be described with just words and pictures, but had to be experienced.
For example, the child had asked her why people will do the same things over and over again at work, ironically behaving like mindless robots. Eve replied that not everyone found happiness in the same work. Perhaps some had no other option, like the would-be thief from earlier, or because someone had to do said job to keep civilization going like a cog in a machine.
Through this interaction Eve saw a problem: the child couldn't truly experience things. It couldn't think like her because it never had a physical body to begin with. However, now was not the time to create such a thing for the child. She still wished to wait and let the child learn before having it make such a life-changing decision.
Eve snapped out of her thoughts as Ophelia informed her that they arrived at their destination. She found herself looking at a worn-out, two story concrete building. It was surrounded by a waist-height fence, making the whole place look more like an antique from the past when compared the modern buildings that surrounded it. Out on the front lawn were several young children, happy smiles pasted on their faces as they ran around and played hide-and-seek amongst the trees and bushes.
A small smile graced the Nasod Empress's lips at the sight; it was hard to see such things in her own world until a few years after the disaster was averted. She hadn't seen anything like it since leaving Elrios. Seeing familiar sights were comforting, yet reminded her of what she set out to accomplish.
Shaking those thoughts away, Eve nodded at her maid who in turn waltzed up to the front gate to ring a bell. The sudden reverberation garnered much attention from the children.
Eve ignored the curious looks from the children, instead focusing on a dark-skinned, elderly woman in a dress that was a few decades out of style. She was with another middle-aged man with neatly combed hair, wearing a very formal and borderline intimidating black suit. [3]
"Ah! Hello, young lady. What brings you here this time of day?" It was the elderly lady who greeted them, a pleasantly warm smile on her face while the man next to her shot a wary glance at Ophelia.
In an attempt to ease the tension, Eve put on her best smile. "Hello, madam. My name is Eve," here she motioned to the silent Nasod maid "and this is Ophelia, a… robotic servant of mind. It is a pleasure to meet you." She shot a glance at Ophelia that said to play along, to which the Nasod maid silently bowed to the elderly woman in response.
The elderly woman didn't notice Eve's exchange with Ophelia, instead her smile widening. "Pleased to meet you, young lady. I'm Magdalene, Magdalene Gilbert, but many people insist on calling me 'Oracle.'" She shrugged. "I don't mind, but I'd appreciate if you called me my name. I'm in charge of this orphanage."
"I'm Smith Gilbert," the tall man next to Magdalene was next, even if his perpetual scowl said he was still wary of the strangers "Magdalene's nephew and a part timer at the orphanage. Speaking of which, may I inquire what your business is? We don't normally have visitors as wealthy as you."
Eve frowned at Smith's intense stare, but Magdalene broke the tension by patting his shoulder. "Don't be so grumpy Smith, it's rare to have a guest these days."
Smith's eyebrow twitched as if he was uncomfortable with what his aunt – or was she his grandmother? - was doing but didn't raise his voice out of respect.
Meanwhile, the children had gathered around them. One even took refuge behind Eve when Smith looked at her, causing Magdalene to glare at him until he looked away.
"It is quite alright, Ms. Magdalene." Eve's tone was soothing, reinforcing the fact that she wasn't angry at Smith. "I actually created Ophelia, as opposed to purchasing her with money." She chuckled, knowing that what she said was true; she did create Ophelia from scraps and discarded parts, after all. "Her appearance always causes others to assume that I am wealthy."
Unexpectedly, the atmosphere suddenly plummeted. Magdalene looked downcast, forcing a smile onto her face. "Young lady, can you please be honest? Are you a government official from the United North American State?"
Eve shook her head without hesitation, but Smith's scowl didn't fade. Now Eve was honestly confused with their reaction. "Why would I be from the government, Ms. Magdalene? I came to this city in search of someone."
"And you think you'll find this person here?" Smith replied sternly, Magdalene also expressing her wariness silently. The children seemed oblivious to the tension beyond the fact that Smith was now glaring. Many took refuge behind Eve, Magdalene, bushes – whatever was close by. "I doubt that it's a coincidence…."
Looking down at her Omni-Tool, Eve tapped a few buttons to silently converse with the child and asked it to bring out a photo.
The photo made Magdalene gasp, as it clearly depicted her, Smith, and the children around them in this very garden. At first glance it wasn't unusual, but for Eve, and by extension the orphanage caretakers, there were many details that didn't make sense if Eve had only taken the photo recently, namely the children who were no longer there and a younger looking Magdalene and Smith.
The next words cemented Eve's suspicions.
"Where did you get that photo?!"
Her voice was wary, but anger also bubbled below the surface. While her nephew's frown was deeper, he chose not to voice his opinion, instead studying the potential foes in front of them.
Now was the time to put Eve's diplomatic strength and reasoning to use.
"I stumbled upon a child carrying this photograph." Her voice was clam, her expression blank. "The child has no recollection of why it is with her or where she was." She decided to temporarily assign a gender to the child, considering saying 'it' would raise suspicion.
The elderly woman looked troubled. "Was that child a girl with short black hair and brown eyes?" She rested her hand on the head of a child hiding behind her. "And around this height?"
Eve shook her head, telling them a half-truth. "No, but the child recalled seeing the girl you described in her dreams every night, and she wished to know why." Now she needed to give them a convincing lie as to where the child was. "However, the child's medical condition prevents hr from travelling far, with or without care. She asked me to help her, so I am hoping to solve the mysteries that have plagued her since birth."
It was a bit absurd, Eve admitted inwardly, but it was also the best excuse she could come up with on the spot. Considering that both man and woman weren't protesting, she wasn't one to complain.
Then again, judging by their solemn looks, she doubted they'd notice any flaws.
Then Magdalene spoke, her voice filled with disbelief. "Are you certain? I mean, about the dream the child had and the photograph?"
Eve nodded silently, not even blinking when Magdalene studied her closer.
After the small staring contest, Magdalene motioned towards the building. "Please come in." Leading the two into the living of the orphanage, she made them sit on one of the old couches in front of a small, outdated television set. It was clear that Magdalene understood the importance of education, considering the bookshelves that covered two of the walls. Eve approved; fancy, high-tech items of questionable value weren't necessary for these children's futures.
Eve watched as Magdalene went back to the front lawn to herd the children into the building while Smith put on a pink apron of all things and went into the kitchen, but not before sending them a glare that promised pain and suffering if they followed him or commented on his attire.
At least he had the decency to ask if they were staying for dinner or not, to which Eve gently declined, stating that she'd have one at home after finishing the questioning session.
But, at the insistence of Magdalene, who told her that it was late and that she'd be busy with the children until bedtime, Eve found herself eating a simple meal with the rest of the children in the orphanage.
The children looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything until one courageous boy asked her about her occupation. To that, Eve replied that she was a traveller who went from place to place, writing journals about the places she visited. It was true, to some extent, given how she stumbled into this realm and the mission she was trying to complete.
Still, it made the perfect excuse for her camera as well, so it wasn't all bad.
Now more children, less afraid than before, asked her to tell them some stories from her travel. So she told them what was essentially a tweaked version of some of Elrios's history, calling it a fairy tale from a distant country. Hopefully when she finished they'd leave her alone so she could have a private conversation with the orphanage's caretakers.
Two words: Big. Mistake.
Turns out that they loved her stories, begging her to tell more. They especially liked the one called 'The White Knight', about a knight who failed to protect his land, vowed to return honor to his fallen kingdom, and the adventures he had to gather allies. Before she knew it, she was halfway through the tweaked version of Chung Seiker's life before he joined their group. That was when Magdalene decided to intervene, while Smith was doing dished in the kitchen to avoid getting involved.
"All right kids…" The elderly woman clapped loudly as Eve finished telling the orphans of how the White Knight met a group of adventurers, aka Elsword and co. Upon getting their attention, she pointed to a digital clock on the wall, brightly displaying the numbers 21:05. "It's already late. Everyone clean up and go to bed!"
The children whined and protested, giving her their best puppy-dog looks while pestering Eve to continue her stories. One asked if the White Knight had a happy ending, causing Eve to nearly choke on the tea Magdalene provided. In the end, Magdalene ordered everyone to bed and enforced her commands with a stern gaze.
"I thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Magdalene." Eve said the moment she came back into the living room. Smith was next to her, his perpetual frown still on his face as the duo sat on the couch opposite to her. Ophelia poured them a cup of tea, placing it in front of them quietly.
Magdalene, however, sported an apologetic smile, ignoring the tea Ophelia poured. "It's nothing dear, think of it as an apology for suspecting you earlier." She glanced at Ophelia briefly before continuing. "We no longer have a good impression of the government. That's why I was afraid you were with them. The government, that is."
"I understand…" Eve nodded, lowering her cup. "So, if it does not bother you, can you please tell me about the child in this photograph?"
Magdalene sighed at the mention of the very topic that had been handing over their heads for the entire evening. Her hand found its way to her forehead as she tried to find the right words. "She was a child… no, a baby that we found on the doorstep one stormy September night around twenty years ago."
The camera on Eve's shoulder was focused on the orphanage caretaker unlike at dinner, but Magdalene didn't pay attention to that as she continued on. "We named her Anchovy, but everyone called her Annie… She grew up to be a lovely child. This place was much livelier when she was around… a little ball of energy, she was…"
Magdalene looked up at the ceiling as she reminisced. "She wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. She wanted it so much that she took care of many of the children in the orphanage when she turned five…"
The woman leveled her gaze at Eve, her smile turning sour. "But the day she turned eight, all of her dreams came crashing down around her…"
Eve wasn't one to interrupt a story without and important reason. The same went for her retainers, but for some reason Ophelia decided to speak up. "Did something happen to her? An accident, perhaps?"
Magdalene shot a strange look at the robotic maid, but Eve coughed quickly and spoke to prevent Magdalene from asking more about her retainer. "So, she had a rare chronic disease?"
The caretaker's solemn look answered Eve's question before the woman even spoke. "Yes. From what the doctor said, it was a rare genetic condition – a one in a billion chance of getting it – with little information and no permanent cure. While periodic treatment could theoretically 'lengthen' her lifespan, she would only live until she reached her mid-twenties. Not to mention that we didn't, and still don't, have enough money for such expensive operations."
"So her days were numbered…" Eve murmured.
Magdalene nodded weakly, as if she were older than she really was. "A crude way of putting it, but yes, that's what it was… She had less than two years to live…"
Taking a calm sip of her tea, Eve smoothly moved to the next topic. "A government organization offered to help her, I am guessing."
Magdalene snorted. "Help? More like turn her into a guinea pig in their sick quest for science!" She coughed twice, not because of her shouting, but to hide her embarrassment over the outburst. "…They wanted to take her in for research to find a permanent cure for her condition. I asked them how they knew where she lived and what her condition was; they said, 'System Alliance Health Care Organization privileges' and no more!"
She let out a bitter laugh. "They underestimated me because I'm living in a developing country on Earth and my race doesn't have its own spaceships. I could see beneath their honeyed words: they never cared about her. They only wanted the results they would get from the experiments they planned to conduct. So I told them I'd never hand over Annie." Her eyes flickered to the ground. "Then they showed their true colors…"
"They threatened us with a lawsuit, charging us with illegal adoption, child labor, you name it." Smith added, his eyes still hidden beneath his sunglasses. He folded his arms. "And we couldn't bring the case to the police because of diplomatic reasons our country was still struggling with at the time. In essence, those representatives were untouchable."
"And even if, by some miracle, we did win against them in court, we would've wasted our time for nothing. By then, the cost of the lawyers and the court would make us go bankrupt and Anchovy's life would've ended long before we saw the end…" This time it was Magdalene who spoke.
Eve nodded. "So with no other choices, you handed her over."
Magdalene hiccupped, yet not a single tear was shed. Smith moved his hand to her shoulder to comfort her and continued for her, his voice making it clear that the decision they made still haunted him. "We brought her to them and explained that they wanted to use her as a lab rat to find the cure for her illness. We didn't sugar-coat anything… we even told her that she might not live to see the day her illness could be cured."
He sighed, his shoulders shaking. "I still remember that day. She didn't cry, protest, or try to run away from the people sent to retrieve her. She just accepted her fate with a smile…" His tone was sad, but also somewhat proud. "She agreed to go with them, and told us when we asked her to rethink her decision that even if she died, her death would be a stepping stone that would save countless others in the future and that her short life would at least have some meaning."
Smith chuckled bitterly. "They didn't even promise that the experiments would lead to a cure. In fact, even now we're not sure if it was completed. This is a backwater country on Earth, after all. Yet she still remained optimistic until the end…"
Magdalene pointed to Eve's wrist-mounted Omni-Tool. Without saying a word, Eve knew that the elder wanted her to bring out the photo again.
"That photo was taken on the last day of her stay here…" The orphanage caretaker spoke longingly, producing a matching photo from a pouch attached to her hip. "I always have it with me, ever since she left…"
Magdalene fell silent after that, leaving Smith to take up the story. "As you might have guessed, it had been a year after she left with the people from the System Alliance Health Care Organization that Anchovy returned… but she was just a lifeless body to be buried."
Even if Eve was synthetic, she couldn't help but sympathize with the two. "My most sincere apologies…"
Magdalene regained her composure, shaking her head. "No dear, it's all right… Actually, I should thank you for listening to an old woman like me ramble about the past." She smiled a little, recalling the rest of her story. "The one who brought us her body wasn't the same one who took her. He told us that he was unaware that those people threatened us and issued a formal apology. He said that he fired and punished the people responsible…"
She scoffed. "As if that could bring Anne back! But," she said, calming down quickly, "at least they had enough courtesy to bring us her handwritten diary."
As she spoke, Smith walked to the bookshelf on the far side of the wall, removing a few books from the highest shelf until it was cleared. He reached once more to the empty shelf, a soft click echoing briefly before he pulled out a small, worn-out pocket book. He gently opened a page, showing it to Eve.
The date written neatly at the top shows that it was written around eleven years ago. It described the girl's final days as a lab rat, and her last farewell.
'Dearest Magdalene Mama,
By the time this diary reaches you, I'll probably no longer be alive. The experiments I went through here were… exciting, but don't deny the fact that there is a cure in sight that's still unattainable. The doctors and the others tried to hide it from me, I know – what a bad child I am, prying into things that I should leave alone.
Still, my end is coming and the doctors are growing desperate. I can see it in their eyes even when they assure me that everything will be alright by my next operation. But it won't and never will be… my life is disappearing. Even if I can still write, it takes all I have to not mess up something. I find my thoughts frequently going haywire unless I focus and I'm so weak that even walking from my room to the cantina is a harsh exercise.
The doctor told me that a cure will be synthesized and put to use after the next confirmation test, but I'm quite sure I won't live to see it. That's okay, because without me the cure couldn't have been completed. I helped out a lot.
To those who are given new life because of the knowledge gained from my sacrifice, I wish for you to live a happy life. Don't waste it.
To Magdalene mama back home, I'm sorry that I can't ever see you again. Please take care of everyone for me. Tell them that I died for their future! May the Lord protect you all and farewell.'
Eve tore away from the diary, meeting Magdalene's teary eyes. She was at a loss of words, unsure of what to say to the elder.
"She knew that it was her last day, but she had hope for those who'll come after her…"
Magdalene's voice was shaky as she reached for Eve, the Nasod Empress blinking in surprise. "You still have contact with the child that kept dreaming about Anne, right?"
Eve nodded. Magdalene, looking slightly relieved, continued. "I'm not sure if it's fate, but since you're trying to solve that poor girl's dilemma, please give her this diary. It might help her."
About to refuse – Eve couldn't just take such a precious memento of their deceased 'daughter' – Eve looked into Magdalene's eyes and the words choked in her throat. Considering that she was synthetic, that was quite the achievement.
Then she saw some complications. Swallowing her earlier hesitation, she spoke. "I am not sure if that is a good idea, Ms. Magdalene. It may induce guilt in the child. She may think that it is because of Anchovy's death she survived."
The older woman didn't resist when Eve put Anchovy's diary away, giving it to Smith who seemed to understand her. He shook his head at his aunt when she turned to him. Magdalene sighed, finally relenting. "You're right… I'm sorry for bothering you with a stupid idea of mine."
Magdalene straightened, before pulling a slip of paper out of her pocket and scribbling on it. Finishing quickly, she handed it to Eve. "This is the address of Anchovy's final resting place. If you feel that the child is ready, whether now or when she's grown, please visit her. I think Anne would be proud."
Eve nodded and prepared to leave, only for Smith to stop her. "Do you have a place to stay for the night? If not, we can prepare one of the unused rooms for you."
Ophelia seemed ready to make a comment, but Eve beat her to the punch – partly to protect her true nature. "I thank you for your hospitality, however I cannot bother you more than I already have."
She bowed slightly to the orphanage caretakers before looking out of the window. "Although it is dark, I still have Ophelia with me. I will be fine, Ms. Magdalene."
Smith nodded. "If that's the case, I bid you farewell."
Magdalene smiled. "If you ever come back to this country, please don't forget to visit us." She paused slightly, her smile widening. "The children loved your stories. It'd be a waste to not finish them, right?"
Eve turned back to face them, a small smile gracing her lips as she nodded her farewell. Ophelia opened the door for her, the two of them disappearing into the night.
Walking along and empty street, Eve decided to locate Anchovy's grave with the Omni-Tool. Tapping away on the holographic keyboard, Eve frowned as an 'Access Denied' popped up.
She glanced to the camera on her shoulder, reading the text that appeared on the screen.
"–Can we please not visit her? –"
The Nasod Empress tilted her head slightly. Inwardly, she was incredibly excited. It seemed that this trip was more fruitful than she originally thought, except there was one final test to perform. And what better time to do so than the present?
So Eve spoke calmly, her face straight. "Why not? It is quite certain that this 'Anchovy' is your 'Mother,' so to speak. Do you wish to pay your respects to her grave?"
The child was silent as Eve and Ophelia stopped below a lamppost on the corner of the street to wait for the child's response. Soon, new text appeared on the screen. "–I want to accomplish what my mother dreamed of. I want to make her proud for having given birth to me. –"
That was the type of answer Eve wanted to hear – forging one's own purpose was a sign of achieving the sentience necessary to think on one's own. But she had to be sure. "This road is a hard one, child. You should know that after a millennia of prejudice against synthetics in this galaxy, you will face hardships like no other has ever seen. Do you know that to survive in this harsh reality, it will sometimes be necessary to end another's life? Even knowing this, do you still want to continue?"
Eve honestly didn't see the next answer coming.
"–We do not know unless we try. If we don't, then we've already lost. –"
Eve heard that before, and from her first human friend no less! It was back when he was still a little naïve, when no darkness loomed over the horizon. She never expected to hear it again in a different place, time, and world like this.
It stirred some emotion within her.
"–I know it's… selfish of me, but I still lack the knowledge and experience to survive. Can you please help guide me? –"
Eve felt like she was standing on a crossroad. One option was to give the child a synthetic body for it to move around in without needing others before she moved on in her quest, leaving the child to fend for his or her self. Another was to guide the child along the way until the child no longer needed her guidance, potentially getting dragged into the conflicts of this galaxy.
Then an image of a certain redhead and his friends surfaced from her memory. The smiles they gave her before their sacrifice and the first time they met were burned into her mind, as if reminding her of the bonds she made in both past and present…
Looking around, Eve saw no one and that the dark sky overhead was empty with the exception of bats and nighttime creatures. Blue rings of holograms sprung up around her as she established a connection to the Chronos Library…
It turns out that it wasn't such a hard decision after all.
How long had it been since Eve had shut her down and disconnected her from a power source? She doesn't know, all she can recall is returning to Eve's home and being told that Eve would construct a physical body for her before asking a series of question.
Now, alone in the dark, she recalled her recent memories.
Yes, she, not it. Eve asked her what she wanted to look like and she decided to follow the set pattern of how humans conceived children with features from both mother and father.
But, in her case she only had a mother – two mothers if she counted Eve on the grounds that she is the one providing her physical body. Then again, by that logic that made Anchovy her father since Eve provided the physical body, right?
Still, to honor her 'birth' mother, she decided to use the one who 'birthed' her as a template for the physical body. When she had told Eve that, she was silent for only a little while before speaking.
"You and Anchovy are different beings with different souls. You cannot be her and she cannot be you. Both of you are unique."
She replied that she understood, but she wanted to use her form to remind her of her origins and remind her of what she vowed to accomplish – to live the life her mother had been denied and to make the world, the galaxy even, a better place.
Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself.
"What happens once you complete your goal, child?"
"I will find some other purpose in life." She answered without hesitation – her final words before everything turned dark.
Perhaps this was a dream?
Suddenly, she felt like her being was heating up, reports flooding her mind – system checks, motor function, sensory function, and many more, all of them coming to a halt when Eve spoke. Her voice was soft, like how Magdalene spoke to the children in her memories.
"Awaken, child. Embrace the glory that is your birthright."
Almost instantly without any procession, her optics shot open. She saw a soft, blue light glowed over Eve, her three servants staring at her.
It was her reflection in the opaque glass of Oberon's helmet that finally made her realize that she had physical body that resembled the human girl who had given birth to her, however unknowingly it may be.
Not any human, she corrected herself. She was more of a 'twin' to the eight-year-old 'Mother Anchovy', except some minor differences set them apart, just like a human mother and daughter.
The things that carried over from her Mother Anchovy were her shoulder-length, messily bobbed hair and her facial features. Her skin was definitely paler, which was perhaps the standard complexion for synthetics, as even Eve's skin was paler than any other human they had met during their trip to Earth. Anchovy's brown eyes had been swapped for ruby red, not to mention the multiple interlocked metallic gears that protruded in place of her ears. Atop her head sat a frilly white headband, a large, silver gear sitting innocently off to one side. She wondered briefly what it was for.
Slowly, the child pushed herself up into a sitting position before trying to stand, only to be pulled back by something attached to her neck. Oberon and Ophelia, acting quickly, stopped the stumbling girl from falling over, gently helping her stabilize herself.
A hissing came from behind her as something disconnected, releasing her from its hold. Now that she was truly free, she removed Oberon and Ophelia's hands gently and turned to face a mirror.
From the reflection, the child saw that she was indeed in the body of a small, preadolescent girl barely taller than Eve's shoulder. She wore a white pinstriped dress covered by a red corset, a matching red ribbon tied around her neck. The dress was embroidered with black crosses at the bottom, a pair of black leggings underneath the skirt. Her boots were of mismatched height, the right reaching up to her thigh whereas the left only reached her knee, as if compensating for the weight of her asymmetrical headgear and her right hand.
Speaking of her right hand, the child glanced at it only to see that it looked like an armored gauntlet, albeit one no bigger than her other hand, with a small red crystal grafted on her palm. Although the sizes of both arms matched, it felt much heavier. Perhaps it was because of the weight in the arm guard and metal glove? [4]
Regardless, she turned to Eve and expressed her gratitude by bowing, her voice coming out as a stammer. "I… thank you for giving… birth to me."
Eve smiled before replying. "There is nothing more sacred than the birth of a new life – even the birth of a synthetic is no exception, Anchor."
The child blinked, clearly confused by the ending of Eve's sentence, but Eve soon cleared up the confusion.
"Your physical body is the hook that binds your dreams to reality, the pillar for you to forge your own destiny, and a reminder of your first mother. It is because of these reasons that I name you Anchor, young one."
Anchor… that was Eve called her… so her name would be Anchor.
She nodded, smiling radiantly like a child who had just been given a Christmas gift. "Anchor understands. Thank you!"
Then she found herself in the embrace of Eve, the Empress of the Nasod, her saviour from demise, the one who gave her purpose, the one who gifted her with the meaning of life…
And Anchor vowed to never disappoint her second mother as well as her first, no matter what lies ahead.
Author's Note
[1] I avoid specify it least it offend someone's home country. And this's not out of the blue; since Mass Effect Codex stated that not every country in the world is prosper equally. Some still behind in technology and society, thus an opportunity for some… unsavory thing System Alliance might try.
[2] Well, not completely alien to the Mass Effect verse though, if anything; what Prothean did is actually looks like 'magic' to other as well. As Arthor C. Clarke once said; "a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
[3] Magdalene's and Smith's appearance based off 'The Oracle' and 'Agent Smith' from 'The Matrix' respectively. But if you ask what is 'The Matrix'? well, where have you been for the last ten years?
[4] Her appearance based off Initial Y-Series robot AnchoR, a Lolibot from Clockwork Planet. Initial Y-Series (Clockwork Robot that gain energy by… winding their gears, no less!) are ridiculously powerful, with The WEAKEST one can Stop Time and it just went up on power scale from there.
In case of AnchoR from Clockwork Planet; think Armored Command Unit plus Paragon from Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance in Lolibot form, and you'll get a rough idea how AnchoR's ability works. Note that Paragon is not called 'Game Ender' without reason.
But rest assured that Anchor in this story will not have that ability anytime soon. Potential is there considering how many things Eve pulled off in Elsword, but it'll take time.
This's the first time I incorporate Pseudo Original Character that has significant impact into fanfiction. I assured you that Original Character or Eve faction will try to steer away from 'Sue' territory as much as possible, but that didn't include power level - as one fanfic writer pointed out that Sue's original meaning is that they can do no wrong or perfect, flawless is the Sue, not power level.
Oh, well, sorry for my rambling… Rate and reviews as you see fit, your comments may help improving this strange fanfic after all.