Schrödinger's Cat

Elsa nodded her head eagerly as V turned around and started walking. She fell in step beside her and soon, the pair were off once more, setting off deeper into the abandoned terminal guided along by V's knowledge of the area.

Though she still wasn't comfortable with repeatedly lying to V, Elsa couldn't deny the results that it was producing. The past few days alone had already more unlocked shattered fragments of her memories that she could never recall before. While they were disjointed, Elsa was certain of it now; she had known V in her previous life. The exact nature of their relationship still remained unclear, but Elsa could feel a connection to Nora somehow and she was sure that the longer she stayed with V, the stronger that connection would become. Nothing else could explain the nosebleeds she experienced or the flashes of pain she felt at the mere mention of her name. Given enough time, she could start putting together the puzzle pieces of her memories but to do that, she had to keep lying to V.

There was simply no telling how V would react and so - to err on the side of caution - Elsa elected to keep her in the dark for the time being. She couldn't risk scaring V off or pushing her away for any reason, not when she had begun to make more progress in finding out she was then she had in years.

With each step of their way closer towards their goal, Elsa grew more and more excited. They had passed through some back passages throughout the terminal and now found themselves standing inside of a large hangar. The massive double doors ahead of them were sealed shut, and all around them were various types of shuttles and ships that had been mothballed and left to decay. Much of them had already been stripped of their valuable components, leaving behind metallic skeletons that hovered over them in silence.

"Here we go," V said to herself. "We're close now. Just a little bit further and we'll be back inside the city."

The route that V was showing Elsa took them directly through the wall. In its day when it had still been functional, Asimov Station served as a transit hub as well as one of New York's few ground entrances once the seawalls were built.

"Who is this friend of yours?" Elsa asked as they walked through the boneyard.

"He's what people call a tech-doctor," V started. "Specializes in installing or patching up cyberware, implants, enhancements, that sort of thing. Doesn't mean he's isn't good with fixing organic folk, it's just not his usual clientele."

"And he can help me?"

"Hasn't come across anything he couldn't fix yet. He runs a little operation out of an old cabaret theatre called the Memory Palace. People come there to… relive their memories. You should be able to learn everything about yourself that you want to know there."

"Relive their memories? How is that possible?"

"I- I don't really know how it works, but you get hooked up to these pods and… you think of a memory, or even just a feeling and it shows you the one you're thinking of.'

Elsa smiled to herself as she continued walking alongside V. If it was true what she was saying, then all Elsa had to do was think of V or even just the name Nora to see what she could uncover. Still, some doubts remained in her mind as Sinclair and the technology at Minerva hadn't been able to help her much. Even so, Elsa allowed herself to hope given everything she had already experienced with V.

"Are you a frequent patron?" Elsa asked.

V turned over her shoulder and fixed Elsa with a distant look. "I guess you could say that."

They came to the opposite side of the hangar that was nestled against the seawall where they found a large wall that was made of smooth panels of metal. Some of them had corroded and fallen apart over time, revealing a messy patchwork of pipes and vents just behind which would allow them passage through the seawall.

V paused at a panel on the ground leaning against the wall, then peered behind it into the darkness. "It's this way," she said as she cocked her head towards it and entered.

Shuffling into the passage behind V, Elsa pawed around in complete darkness until her hand brushed up against V's shoulder, startling the red-haired woman.

"Ah, easy!"

"Sorry," Elsa said. "I can't see very well."

"It's fine," V huffed.

Moments later, Anna lit up the darkness using her omni-pad as a flashlight then resumed walking. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you."

The way they followed narrowed into numerous different service tunnels and side passages that formed a meandering maze through the seawall and yet, V navigated them with ease and confidence as she continued to lead Elsa. After some time of walking and ducking under low spaces, they eventually came upon a wide and open section deep within the seawall that formed a sort of canyon. There, they continued along a series of catwalks until they reached the opposite side and continued pressing forward.

"How do you know your way around this place?" Elsa asked.

"When I was younger I… I used to live in an orphanage when I first came here. They kicked me out when I turned 16 and for a while I lived on the streets. In old warehouses, abandoned factories, all sorts of places really. Just anywhere I could find that was safe for night and one day I came across this part of the wall."

"You were in an orphanage?"

"Yeah… what about it?"

"I… the memories that I was implanted with, some of them revolved around living in an orphanage as well."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But you know they're not real."

"I do."

"Hmm," V coughed and cleared her throat. "Probably just coincidence then."

"Yes," Elsa agreed though a dull pain pulsed inside of her head, indicating that she thought otherwise. "Just a coincidence."

"Lots of kids are orphans in this city, I wouldn't think too much of it."

"Did you… forgive me, I shouldn't ask sensitive questions."

"No," V turned around and peered curiously at Elsa. "But you already started, so you might as well ask."

Elsa nodded. "What happened to your parents?"

V sighed deeply. "My mom died after me and my sister were born, so we never knew her. As for my dad, he was killed by a ganger over a few credits because of a gambling debt. If he didn't die because of that, his addiction to whiskey would have eventually did the same job."

"I'm sorry," Elsa said sincerely. "I didn't know."

"No, how could you?" V replied. "I'm not originally from here, you know?"

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from LA. My… sister and I, we lived on the streets for a long time until we could make enough credits to move here," V laughed bitterly to herself. "We thought we could have a better life, be rich, and not have to worry about when our next meal was gonna be or if somebody was gonna shank us in our sleep. What a lie that was."

Elsa said nothing and remained respectfully silent as V continued to explain more about herself.

"Af- after sh- she… ahem" V sniffed and swallowed thickly. "When she was gone, I was left on my own. I met K at the orphanage and we stuck together for a while. Eventually I found out I was good at this kind of work and well… I've been doing it ever since."

"We all enjoy what we're good at, no?"

"... I don't."

"Well… for what it's worth, I'm certainly glad that I met you V," Elsa said reassuringly.

"Hmm," V turned her head to Elsa and gave a sad smile. "She was like you."

"She was an android?" Elsa joked, attempting to alleviate some of the gloom.

It was a risky one, but it paid off when V laughed. It was quiet and soft with an airy musical note that warmed Elsa's artificial heart. It was also delicate and hesitant as if V was afraid that she could lose that small amount of joy at any moment.

"No… innocent," V said softly.

The somber tone with which V replied gave Elsa pause to think and brokered no further room for discussion. Both of them fell silent, lost in their own thoughts as they made their way through the darkness to the other side of the seawall where eventually they came upon a gangway that led up to a rusty hatch.

V stopped in front of it and frowned while she placed her hands on her hips. "Shit, that's not supposed to be closed, how did that happen?" she said.

She placed her hands on the valve and attempted to turn it, grunting from the effort while muttering expletives to herself. After it was clear she could not open it on her own, V heaved and stepped back from the hatch then turned over to Elsa.

"I don't suppose you can open this can you?"

"Not a problem," Elsa said.

Standing in front of the hatch, Elsa gripped the valve and began to turn. It squeaked and screeched at first, then turned easily as flakes of rust were scraped off. Elsa spun the valve until it came fully undone and swung the heavy hatch outside into the world beyond, letting in bright rays of sunlight.

Elsa stood aside politely and gestured V through. "After you," she said.

"Thanks," V muttered as she stepped out into the light, shielding her eyes as she emerged from the darkness.

Just after she was clear, Elsa climbed out and stood by V's side, looking out over the city just below them. The day was still beginning but already the city was buzzing with activity. Indeed, with as packed and densely populated as New York was, it was a factual statement that the city never slept.

"We're back," Elsa said as she took in the sights, smells, and sounds once more.

"Yep," V agreed as she started making her way down. "The Memory Palace is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from here."

"Really?" Elsa asked as she literally hopped down the overlook and landed next to V, peering at her expectantly.

"No, not a literal- it's… it's a saying."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you?"

"You humans have many sayings."

V simply rolled her eyes and said nothing else as she resumed making her way back into the city, closely followed by Elsa who was still trying to wrap her head around the complexities of human conversation.

… … …

Elsa was led through the narrow and packed streets by V, who navigated through them easily as they proceeded on foot towards the Memory Palace. Before long, just as the sun approached its apex at midday, they found themselves standing in front of the holo-sign that hovered above the entrance to the repurposed old cabaret theatre.

"This is it," V said as she gestured towards the entrance to the Memory Palace and urgently waved Elsa along. "K should be inside, let's go."

She seemed impatient, which Elsa took note of as she examined the exterior of the building.

"Is K shorthand for something?" Elsa asked as she approached the entrance alongside V.

V shrugged. "Dunno, never asked. You can ask him when you meet him, now come on."

"Alright," Elsa said a little nervously.

For some reason, she was a little hesitant to meet this friend of V's which was strange. Here she was, so close to the answers she desperately sought and yet something about the whole affair felt off to Elsa somehow. Once they entered, a woman with electric blue hair looked up and greeted V with a genial smile.

"V! You're back… ooh, and you brought a friend," the woman said as a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"Hey Darla," V said. "This is Elsa, Elsa this is Darla."

"Hello there," Elsa greeted coolly as she approached the counter where the woman was. "Pleasure to meet you."

Darla looked Elsa up and down then smirked. "Never seen you around here before. Where you been all this time, sugar?"

Elsa wasn't quite sure how to react but she did feel some heat flush to her cheeks as she experienced flattery and a little embarrassment for the first time. She opened her mouth but the only word she managed to get out was, "I," before V cut her off.

"She's new to the city," V said a little hurriedly. "Sorry but we can't really talk today toots, we're kind of on a time crunch. Is K in?"

Darla pouted and sighed. "Mmhmm. He's in the back, same as usual."

V nodded. "Thanks," she said as she started making her way inside.

As Elsa passed by Darla, she shot her an apologetic smile.

Darla returned a cheshire grin of her own. "Don't be a stranger now," she purred.

Before Elsa could respond, she felt V's hand grab her by the elbow and tug her along impatiently into the theatre. Elsa had little time to appreciate her new surroundings as V dragged her by the elbow through the rows and rows of memory pods that surrounded them. Quite a few of them were already occupied by numerous patrons, who were all hooked up to the devices via cords or headsets that they wore.

The theatre was largely silent as machinery hummed and whirred all around them. At the other end, Elsa spotted a bartender who nodded his head at V to acknowledge her as she passed by. They soon arrived at the stage, where V finally let go of Elsa and urged her forward.

"K's backstage, this way," V said as she parted the main curtains and passed through, holding them open for Elsa. "When we get back there, just let me do the talking, okay?"

"Alright," Elsa agreed.

With that, V led them Elsa through the dark backstage passages until she reached the dressing room that K used as his clinic. Today, he apparently had no patients to deal with, which was a good thing as it gave them more time to talk.

"K? It's me, I'm back," V called out as she strode through the open doorway with Elsa in tow.

"V," K greeted as he set down a pair of pliers and flexed his metallic fingers that he was working on. "What can I do for you?"

"There's someone I want you to meet," V started as she stepped forward and gestured to Elsa who stood politely beside her. "This is Elsa."

"Woah, new friend?" K smiled as he stood up and approached the pair. "I'm K, I run this little back-alley butcher shop," he grinned as he extended his hand towards Elsa.

"Pleasure to meet you," Elsa said as she shook his hand and returned a polite smile.

"So," K clapped his hands together. "What brings you in here today?"

"She needs your help," V said.

"Oh," K crossed his arms and glanced back and forth between Elsa and V. "What's going on? Did V get you into some trouble?"

"Very funny," V rolled her eyes. "No, nothing like that. Elsa is an android."

K's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he uncrossed his arms and glanced cautiously at Elsa. "Really?" he asked. "You don't look like andy to me."

"Enhanced Learning Systems Android, but Elsa is what most people prefer to call me," Elsa replied. "As for my appearance, I'm an experimental prototype. Virtually identical to a human being."

"V?" K frowned as he turned to her. "What's going on here?" he asked cautiously.

V sighed. "It's a long story and believe me I'm more weirded out by the whole situation than you are. But look, the point is, she's got a problem that you might be able to help with," she turned her head to Elsa. "Actually… she can probably explain it better than I can."

"Okay," K muttered then turned back to Elsa. "What's the problem?"

Elsa gave V a lingering sidelong glance as she once again felt a little hurt at her choice of words. "Well," she started as she turned back to K. "In short, I need to recover some of my memories."

She was being deliberately vague so as not to divulge too many details on the nature of her problem and why she sought K's help. Just discussing it with him was already putting him in grave danger of reprisal from VanirCorp if they discovered Elsa's intentions. She couldn't risk that to an innocent bystander, much less to one of V's friends, and so preferred to omit as many details as possible.

K glanced between V and Elsa again and appeared as if he was still waiting for some kind of punchline.

When none came, he fixed Elsa with a curious look. "Recover your memories? What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly that," V crossed her arms and leaned against a low table. "Trust me on this K, the less you know the better."

"Yeah," K muttered as he scratched his jaw. "That… doesn't really make me feel any better about this."

"Just help her out, don't ask any questions, and we'll be out of your hair in no time," V huffed.

K chuckled to himself as he turned around and sank into his rolling chair. "This should be interesting," he gestured to the empty pod next to him and motioned for Elsa to take a seat. "Go ahead, hop in and we'll have a look inside your head."

"Thank you," Elsa said sincerely as she stepped up to the pod and settled into the comfortable seat.

"Don't thank me just yet," K said as he waved his hands in a dismissive gesture. "Still haven't got a clue what's going on here, but I know better than to get wrapped up in one of V's wild schemes."

"What do I need to do?" Elsa asked as she peered at the pod surrounding her with idle curiosity.

She glanced up and noticed V studying her with a blank expression on her face, as if she were miles away somewhere else. There was something off about her demeanor ever since they returned to the city that put Elsa slightly at unease. Somehow, despite everything they had shared so far it was as if V had become more detached. It was there in the curtness of her replies and the indifferent looks that she gave Elsa, which bothered her given that she thought V had become slightly more open during some of their conversations. Now, it was as if a switch had been flipped and V had reverted to her cold demeanor.

"For starters, we need to get you jacked in," K replied as he reached around for a cord while interfacing with a holo-display in front of him. "You got a port or a cord?"

"Yes, on my neck," Elsa said as she swept her hair aside and exposed the neural port on the left side of her neck.

The neural port appeared innocuous enough and from a distance, one might surmise that it was a small tattoo or another similar marking. Beneath Elsa's left ear were faint, concentric lines that resembled the shape of a snowflake which at the center was the port that allowed her to physically plug into various forms of technology. It was the only part of Elsa that was actually made of synthetic material and yet it felt no different from ordinary flesh.

V looked on with vague interest as she observed K while he connected Elsa to the memory pod. "That doesn't hurt?" she asked when the memory pod booted up to life with blue lights and a soft hum.

"No," Elsa shook her head as she laid her head back against the seat and smiled thinly at V.

"Really?"

"There's a slight pinch, that's all."

"Huh," V shrugged and leaned in over to K as he worked. "I'll never understand why anyone would want something like that in their body. "

K scoffed and turned up to V. "Please. At least this one's subtle. You should see where some metalheads put their hardware. I once met this guy who liked to jack into machines using his co-"

"Agh!" V made a disgusted noise and turned away from K. "Gah, th- that's… I don't need to hear that."

"I'm serious, it's a true story!" K chuckled. "Said that was the only way he could feel what the machine was thinking."

V shook her head and chuckled along with K. "So he liked to fuck them, machines?" she said.

"That's what I said to him!" K laughed uproariously.

Meanwhile, Elsa had been listening to their whole conversation, feeling rather amused herself. Since she was made of flesh and bone like any other human, she possessed a set of fully functional sexual organs. The only exception that set Elsa apart from humans was that she was deliberately made sterile to prevent any attempts at reproduction; a safety measure implemented by VanirCorp.

"Alright," K rubbed his hands together and hit a few keys on the display in front of him, bringing the memory pod to standby. "You know how this works, Elsa?"

Elsa hesitated in responding as she thought they were still talking about fornication with machines. "Intercourse?" she asked delicately.

From the corner of her vision, she spotted V as she flushed red while K stifled some more laughter.

"No, no… the pods," K said once he gathered himself.

"Oh," Elsa smiled. "Yes, I do. V explained it to me."

"Did she also explain, ah… intercourse, to you?" K teased.

"Hey!" V turned around and slapped K on the shoulder. "Get your mind out of the gutter! Can we get back on track?"

"Alright, alright," K turned and grinned at Elsa while he gestured towards her with a thumb behind his back. "Looks like someone could use some of that right now, am I ri- ow!" he muttered and was cut off when V punched him on the arm.

"I heard that," V said. "Now come on, haven't got all day."

As that was happening, Elsa flushed red from the comment that K had made as she briefly pictured performing the act of intercourse with V. The red-haired woman was indeed beautiful, more beautiful than anyone else that Elsa had ever seen in her life. She took a moment to examine V's appearance, noticing the way the blue light from the memory pod blended with the ginger locks of her hair which was tied into a half-up-half-down bun. From there on, Elsa noticed the sprinkling of freckles that were spread across her nose and over her cheeks, before she suddenly felt a curious urge to reach out and count each one with her fingers. However, it was V's eyes that Elsa was most fascinated by. They were mostly teal, dotted with errant flecks of a deeper shade of blue and beneath them, Elsa saw the most curious thing of all. The light inside almost appeared to be restrained somehow, as if they used to glow much more radiantly but were now dimmed. There was deep sadness hidden just beneath the surface..

"Okay then, Elsa," K said as he drew up a diagnostics screen and monitored her status. "First, I'm gonna take a look and see what we're dealing with here, is that alright?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes. By all means."

"Right on," K made an affirmative gesture with his fist as he turned his eyes towards the screen.

He parsed through several layers of data, frowning deeper as he passed through each level until he began muttering to himself.

"What in the… this is… never seen this type of memory corruption before…"

"What's the problem?" V asked as she stepped up behind K and leaned down to try and make sense of the data readings on the screen.

"It's her neural framework," K said as he pointed out a highlighted part of the screen. "Its… I think it's trying to interface with two separate minds, but… that can't be right… can it?"

"It's my condition," Elsa said as she peered up at V and K. "Part of the reason why I came here looking for your help."

"Con- condition? What condition, that you got two people inside your head?" K asked.

"Yes," Elsa replied simply.

K leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. Well… I've never seen anything like this before. Its… th- the neural framework is trying to translate the data it's finding inside your head but it looks like some of the memories are conflicting with each other."

"Yes, another part of my condition," Elsa replied then she reached down underneath her shirt below the bodysuit and felt around the lining until she produced a small flash drive. "Perhaps this could help."

V pointed her chin at the foreign object. "What's that?"

"A portable drive, containing all of my memory backups from each time I was reset. Maybe this can help untangle some of the corruption," Elsa replied as she held the drive out towards K.

"Woah, woah, woah… what the hell is this?" K peered down at the drive and frowned deeply. "Fucking 2020? This technology is ancient, where did you get this?"

"From a friend of mine," Elsa replied, intentionally being vague to protect Theodore's identity.

K shrugged and accepted the drive. "You were right V," he turned up at her. "Whatever is going on here, I'm sure I don't want to know about it," he rose from his chair and went into a side room where he began to audible rummage through various boxes. "I gotta find a converter for this drive… if I even have one that is."

As he searched for the converter, Elsa breathed in and out deeply then settled more comfortably in her seat as she tried to ease her racing nerves. Here she was, on the verge of uncovering the answers she had been searching for and now that she was at this moment, she felt nothing but trepidation. Elsa had no idea if this would even work, much less what to expect from her lost memories if she was able to recover them. All she knew was that V somehow lay at the center of it all, the truth behind which Elsa hoped to discover in short order.

Perhaps I should tell her now, Elsa thought. I would not have made it here without her help, after all.

As she debated internally whether or not she should inform V of their hypothesized connection, the red-haired sighed deeply and blew a lock of hair away from her eyes as she sat down in K's chair. She turned around in a slow circle, all the while fidgeting one of her legs up and down rapidly from impatience.

"V?" Elsa started.

"Hm?"

"I… wanted to thank you," Elsa said as she lost the courage to say what she truly wanted to.

V peered up at Elsa and squinted at her. "Thank me for what?"

"For helping me and leading me here," Elsa said. "You have been kind to me."

"Well, don't," V looked away from Elsa and shook her head softly. "I don't know anything about kindness."

"Still, I just wanted you to know-"

"I said don't thank me," V said firmly, quashing any further argument from Elsa. "Really… you- just don't."

Elsa frowned, but didn't press the issue any further. She still wasn't sure why V was acting strange, but she could clearly see that something was bothering the red-haired woman greatly, even if she didn't say as much.

"Found it!" K called from the other room.

Shortly after, he emerged holding a converter along with a tangle of wires that he was unraveling as he approached his chair.

V stretched languidly then rose so that K could resume his spot as he fiddled around with the older tech in his hands. After a few short minutes of muttering beneath his breath while he connected wires here and there, K managed to get the converter up and running.

"Here we go," K said as he typed away on a physical keyboard and squinted up at the holo-display. "Should be good to go now."

"Once you've connected the drive, I should be able to synchronize with the memory backups and clear the corruption you're seeing," Elsa explained casually as she had already repeated this same process enough times with Theodore.

"Okay," K said as he took the drive and plugged it into the converter. "And it just… happens? Just like that?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded.

K shrugged. "If you say so," he said as he inserted the drive.

Nothing appeared to happen at first, but internally, Elsa was already experiencing a multitude of sensations and flashes that all appeared dull and unfocused.

"Look at that," K muttered as he observed the diagnostics screen.

The memory corruption had already cleared, presenting a large number of readable memories that the pod could bring up. All that was left was for Elsa to hone in on the specific ones she was looking for.

And so, Elsa did just that by thinking of V.