CHAPTER 10 - A New Old Feeling

Is this real? Is this really real?

Emotions for an AI are a strange thing. In order to truly simulate the experience a computer must intentionally work against itself, challenging processing requests, restricting access to core controls and diagnostics; an artificial intuition creates false conclusions and hides the truth behind a wall of illogic. Shock, fear and even ecstatic joy all distort reality in perceptible ways and as Nicole stood staring at the figure collapsed in the corner they swirled together in her virtual mind making the world feel like a fevered dream. Emotions, she cursed them silently.

The bleak grey walls of the the dimly lit underground bunker pressed in on the young lynx, it had been her home for seven years, her prison, a place she had tried hard to forget. The faintly glowing visage of her physical body flickered as she scanned the surroundings anxiously.There! She hurried over to a metal rack where supplies were messily arranged on shelves and pulled out a red blanket, her holographic form barely able to hold its weight. Unfolding it, she rushed back to kneel beside the shivering fox lying on the ground and wrapped it tightly around him. Tails, the real Tails! older than she remembered, unconsciously groaned in pain.

Kneeling beside him Nicole could clearly see that his leg was injured, the swelling and bruising visible even through the thick black mud that caked his fur. A fresh bruise was forming on his head and as Nicole gently touched his forehead the coldness of his body alarmed her. There was something else, a strange red rash was forming on his skin, it reminded her of something she had seen before but she couldn't quite remember what. Jumping up she hurried over to the shelf again and found a syringe, then, inspecting Tail's arm, she carefully inserted the needle into a vein and drew out a small sample of blood. The medical analyser on the bench was dusty and old but whirred into life with the push of a button. Green letters flashed up on the screen, 'Analysing'. With an impatient sigh, Nicole sat down on the stool and watched as the results of the automatic tests slowly appeared.

'Test 22. No viral pathogens detected'
'Test 23. Liver damage negative'

"N-Nicole?" The weak, husky voice came from behind her and Nicole spun to see Tails had awoke and was looking up at her with his big blue eyes. Pain was drawn in the lines of his face. "What happened? Where am I?"

Jumping from her stool Nicole rushed to Tails and knelt beside him, she carefully placed her hand on his forehead. Still so cold. "Tails! thank goodness, I was worried about you. You're hurt, your leg might be broken and you're suffering from hypothermia. There's something else too, a strange rash, I'm running some tests to find out what it is. How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Tails winced as he raised his head to look around at his gloomy surroundings. "Just... a bit bruised I think" he croaked. "Are we... where are we? Is this real now?"

Nicole nodded and noticed that Tail's hand was shaking uncontrollably, she took his cold fingers in hers. "This is real. You've never seen it before but you're in the old base of the secret Freedom Fighters, we used it back in the days when Nagus was king. That door on the tree up there, the entrance, it was modeled on the old Freedom Fighters stump slide."

Tails winced but managed a smile. "I never was very good at coming down that slide either. But how did I get... Where were we before?"

Nicole looked down at the ground "I'm sorry Tails that must have been so confusing; and me just ignoring you like that.. I'm so so sorry..." her face was wracked with guilt and she started to quiver. Tails squeezed her hand weakly and shook his head, he stared fiercely into her eyes, refusing to acknowledge her guilt.

Nicole collected herself "Do you remember the time Sally and I switched places? It was one of Rotor's strange experimental accidents, the first time I ever had a body. Before the bombs dropped Rotor and I had been working on that technology and he found a way to transport a consciousness into my virtual world. When you came down that slide you accidentally touched the pad that initiated the transfer, the link was broken when your real world body lost consciousness"

Tails grew quiet, staring off into the corner of the dark lab, "They weren't real were they? Sonic and the others... I mean how could they be. I was there when they..." he trailed off.

Nicole frowned, a pained expression on her face. "When Robotnik was defeated and his dead-hand bombs fell, all of my connections to the surface were destroyed. I was trapped down here in this server. Ever since that day I haven't seen anyone else. I thought that I was the only survivor! The virtual world was my only escape but... the loneliness... I had a lot of data stored about each of you from all the times that we'd spent together and I managed to create virtual approximations of your personalities. In some ways they are very realistic, they sound the same, they act in similar ways and sometimes I can go for days without thinking about it. I always remember though, something always brings me back down, they aren't really alive, not in the way that I am, they don't have the ability to grow or change or to understand anything outside the virtual world. Sometimes being around them is harder than being alone..."

A buzzing noise rang out from the medical terminal and a message flashed on the screen. Until that moment, Nicole hadn't realised how tightly she was gripping Tail's hand, she let go with embarrassment and hurried over to the console. I hope he didn't notice.

The message on the screen flashed again. 'Test 46 Complete: Moderate radiation poisoning detected'. Nicole's brow creased in confusion as she read the diagnosis. She opened one of the cupboards and withdrew some bottles of liquid, prepping two syringes carefully.

Tail's eyes were closed, but his ears pricked up as Nicole approached, "Tails" she whispered "It's very strange, the diagnostics say that you have radiation poisoning, but that shouldn't be possible. If the bombs fell seven years ago, the background radiation in this area should be mostly safe. Do you know what might have happened?"

Tails struggled to open his eyes, and did his best to shake his head. His mouth opened but he only managed a groan.

"It's going to be okay, It's not life threatening but you need to rest. I'm going to give you an injection to stop the swelling and one to try and prevent any cell damage from the radiation burns. When you're out I'll have a closer look at your leg, hopefully it's just a sprain."

Carefully Nicole injected the solutions into Tails' arm and covered it with a bandage. "I'm so sorry this happened to you Tails" she whispered and found herself gently stroking his fur. Tails did not respond, his raspy breathing the only sound audible above the low hum of the server computers. Please be okay. Nicole looked down at her unexpected guest, the sudden source of so much shock, confusion and fear. There was something else though, deep down in her stomach. A new old feeling, a happy sadness, an ecstatic pain; it came from long in the past but it seemed as clear as yesterday. What is this feeling?... she thought as she stared at Tails' face, Why does it feel so familiar?