I forgot to update this Sunday, so here it is! Enjoy!


CHAPTER 2: TO ZENITH

Long ago, Zenith used to be a peaceful realm, filled with life and happiness. The people thrived in their innovations, and took pride in their kings and royalty. Although their realm certainly wasn't perfect, they had confidence that they were headed to a bright future.

But that all changed in the Age of Blood. In 16002, a few months before the start of the Fifth Dimensional War, Zenithian peasants staged a violent coup on King Nikolai, the last monarch of Zenith. The people could only watch helplessly as their government changed, right before their eyes.

Centuries of dictatorship followed. The communist dictators all pledged to end disparity between social classes, only ended up making the situation worse. They destroyed freedom of the press, banned anything related to capitalism, and put thousands of people in concentration camps. Everyone knew better than to fight back.

Zenith is communist no more. However, the dictatorship still lives on, well-alive in the hands of Premier Medea…

Tecna woke up with a jolt. Her breath came out in sharp gasps, and she stared at the ground, terrified of what had just gone through her head.

What was I thinking? Saying such things were grounds for arrest in Zenith – even thinking it was a crime. The textbook from History of the Realms was still fresh in her mind. If I said something in my sleep aloud…

She glanced anxiously around the spacecraft. Fortunately, no one seemed to have noticed; everyone else was sitting silently in their seats, a dull, glazed look in their eyes. It was the look Zenithians always possessed, what they'd been programmed to do. And how I should behave, too.

Around her was total silence. Tecna had no one for company, not even Digit, the pixie who had always brought life and chatter to her day. And for a long time, she would've preferred it this way; solitude was the state she preferred, the state she'd been programmed for.

Until two years ago. The Winx, her closest friends in the world, had taught her how to feel, how to do something other than work and still find fulfillment. And Digit had been one of the best friends she could have asked for.

But then she'd got that fateful call that morning, the one commanding her to return to Zenith early. It meant she couldn't enjoy vacation like her friends, couldn't go to Stella's Princess Ball at all. Family always came first. And so did Mr. Vasiliev's work.

APPROACHING REALM OF ZENITH, the words flashed across her vision. TEMPERATURE 10.6 DEGREES CENTIGRADE BELOW ZERO.

She reached the Zenith Interrealm Spaceport, in the province of Elektrichestvo. It was this planet where electricity had been first harnessed as a source for technology. Of course all people across all realms had known about electricity before; Fulgur, the realm of weather, predominantly ran off of electrical, hydroelectric, and turbine power. But it was Zenith where the Realm Wide Web had been invented, and later the Winx Wide Web and Witch Wide Web, respectively, for fairy-beings and warlocks. It was one of the reasons why Unified Zenithian was the third-most spoken language across the realms, second only to the Common Tongue and Magixian.

She climbed into a driverless taxi and sped down the road. The Zenithian Fortress was to her left, a formidable mass of black steel, surrounded by robots and drones. It was there that Premier Medea resided.

The taxi continued down the road, through the capital city of Kremniy. They were in the Upper District of the city, with beautiful, gleaming buildings. Only the wealthy and middle-class could afford housing here, of course – the Lower District was for the poor people. They lived in buildings that were made of wood, or at best, brick, materials that were known to be primitive. In the Upper District, every house was made out of steel, and personal robots (as well as a few lucky Lower District people) polished the houses from dusk to dawn.

Tecna had always pitied the people of the Lower District. Although Zenith was a very strong industrial nation, its poverty was infamous across all realms. But there wasn't much she could do. Speaking out against the government was forbidden, and often a death sentence.

The taxi rolled to a stop at Tecna's house. It was a large mansion, with immense towers of steel and completely polished glass windows. The façade, as with all Zenithian buildings, was black; no color variation was allowed in any Zenithian house. From her history books at Alfea, she'd heard that the regime had once tried to control hair-colors, too. However, pink, purple, and blue were natural hair colors, and it was impossible for any regime to forcibly distribute black hair-dye, not in a realm that numbered nearly twelve million in population.

Arriving home should've brought Tecna a sense of solace. And in fact, it almost did. There was a time when coming home brought her a sense of security and relief, as a home should. But then I went to Alfea…

"There you are," a man barked. Tecna looked up and saw her father, speaking harshly in the language of Unified Zenithian. Tecna bowed to him and climbed up the steps to greet him.

Her father was a man of few words. A pioneer in the field of electrical-engineering, he was a hard worker. However, this also meant that he pushed Tecna to aspire to the same. His austere face was enough to force her to complete whatever task was required of her.

Since birth, it had been drilled into her head: work hard. Get top grades, apply for a high-ranking school, and above all, never stop working. She had learned her first computer programing language when she was four, and now knew all of the major languages, as well as how to hack into any site or get any computer to start working again. A feat that would've sounded impressive, if not for the fact that most of the kids she'd grown up with knew how to do it, too.

She couldn't understand why her friends found her technological literacy so impressive. Sure, she knew how to program, but so did nearly every family she'd interacted with at home. Any child born in a middle- or upper-class family in Kremniy was expected to learn computer programming. After all, it was the future in Zenith; much of its economy ran on it. The children competed to get into the best private schools, and from there, to the best universities. In those select universities, only the most erudite were chosen to work for the royal service – the highest honor any student could hope for.

"Come on inside," another harsh voice called, this time female. A tall woman with straight purple hair was standing in the doorway, a disapproving expression on her face. "Your luggage just arrived here."

Of course, thought Tecna. High efficiency. It always disoriented her, upon arrival in Zenith, how fast everything moved. She was used to the annoyingly slow pace back on Magix, where there were no advanced algorithms.

"I had the drones scan and unpack your things. I don't know where you bought those clothes from, but I do not want to see you wearing them! I don't know how you think it's acceptable to go around half-naked. Do you hear me?"

Tecna's cheeks flamed. Why didn't I just leave them back in my suite? She would never have bought those clothes on her own, had it not been for months and months of Stella's nagging, and the fact that they simply looked chic. Only after Stella told her they would make her more attractive to Timmy had she finally caved and bought herself a purple crop-top and tight black pants. And she had become more attractive to Timmy, but not because of the clothes. No, it was because they had bonded over their trip to the Resort Realm.

Oh Timmy, where are you now? Tecna thought, squeezing her eyes shut. The Magixian boy had wanted to spend time with her over the summer, and have her over at his place. Tecna, already knowing what her parents would say, had declined.

"Do you hear me?" Tecna's mother repeated.

Tecna shook herself out of her reverie and looked up at her mother. "Yes, Mother," she said. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Good," her mother said, giving her another hard look. "Now, go to the laboratory. Mr. Vasiliev has some work for you, and you need to complete it by tonight."

"Yes, Mother," Tecna said automatically, and then walked down the hallway. "Goodbye." She headed out the back door, and then into the yard. Finding a robotic car, she climbed in, quickly selecting the location of the lab and letting it take her there.

As the car zoomed down the road, she thought about all of the rules she had broken in her past two years at Alfea. She had done so many stupid, immature, and downright illogical things. She'd interacted with so many girls, girls who spoke so freely without any fear of repercussions. Tecna couldn't imagine talking to or about her parents like that. Shockingly, she'd made a group of friends, even though her parents had warned against making friends. But worst of all, she'd gotten a boyfriend, who happened to be the love of her life.

I shouldn't like him, she thought, waves of guilt washing over her. After all, marriage in Zenith wasn't based off of love – the very idea sounded ridiculous to her. Her parents' marriage had been arranged based off of their wealth, and only after both of them had completed college. It had seemed absurd that anyone could marry just because they liked someone – at least, until last year.

Now all Tecna wanted to do was to be with Timmy. To have his arms around hers, to play video games with him and Digit, to spend time tucked up under a cover with him and watch a movie. Just the simplest things sounded so appealing – and yet, she knew it wasn't possible.

Now I know why my parents didn't want me to go to Alfea. Though they'd been happy that she'd gotten admission, they'd been hesitant to send her, on the fear that their daughter would be susceptible to "unbecoming influences". It had only been when the Alfea Recruitment agent had visited their house, persuading them that Tecna was qualified for it, that they'd acquiesced and let her go, on one condition: no boys. And she'd kept with that condition – at least, until last year.

I can't think about him, Tecna reminded herself. I have work to do. I can't keep thinking about him.

She reached the laboratory's gate. It was Igor Vasiliev's laboratory, and she worked there. Mr. Vasiliev was working on a top-secret project that even Tecna didn't know about. Tecna had been selected as one of the programming staff, and she'd been working there since she was nine. Her main job was to oversee the computers' statistical scans and make sure that they were doing their job. Her father said that it was good life experience for when she graduated Alfea and came back to Zenith for graduate school. Not to mention, it would raise her status immensely as well.

She grimaced, thinking of all the tasks she'd have to do in the lab – all of which didn't involve Timmy or her friends. I wish I could go with them and get some pizza… But that was completely out of the question.

Stop it, she forbade herself. Why am I thinking such things? She needed to banish such thoughts out of her brain. She was here to work, and nothing else.

"What's the four-digit passcode?" a voice above her head said.

Tecna blinked, then remembered. "2048," she said. The gates opened, and she walked inside.

To enter the lab, she had to send a ray of her magical energy into the sensor. The sensor was able to catalog the magnitude of each fairy's power, and as each fairy was different, it was a good way to keep track of who was who. There was also a facial recognition scan, which she passed easily, then entered the building.

The interior was shiny and metallic. It was a huge laboratory, triple the size of Alfea. There was internal transportation to different sections of the lab, where different people worked. Tecna was about to get onto the transport, when an android walked up to her.

"Anastasia Ivanova," it said in a monotone, emotionless voice, similar to the voice that she was often accused of speaking with. For a moment, Tecna didn't respond, then she remembered. Anastasia. It was her proper, legal name, although not the name she'd applied to Alfea with. I'm Anastasia again. She swallowed as the robot continued speaking. "I have been sent to perform the routine medical checkup and make sure your internal software is working."

Oh right. "Thanks, Sammy," Tecna said. She'd named all of the robots when she was twelve, not that they knew, of course.

"Follow me," Sammy said, and she followed the android to a medical room with computer screens on all four walls. They glinted back, reflecting her figure in their black, mirror-like form.

"I need you to undress," Sammy said. The door dead-bolted, and she added, "I have locked the door for extra privacy."

Tecna stifled a laugh. There's nothing private about this place. Nevertheless, she stripped off her layers one by one, until she was standing completely naked, gazing down at her right side.

On the left side of her body, she looked completely normal. Her leg and arm was made out of flesh, and so was her head and neck. She was very white, particularly because she spent much of her time indoors, but other than that, there was nothing abnormal about her.

But there was a line exactly down the half of her body. Her spinal cord was made of metal, and so was her right arm and leg. Her brain was also enhanced with neural networks, and she had an actual computer inside of there, one that could scan and record activities at an inhuman rate.

When she was eight, she had been in a hover accident. The details were hazy, and she couldn't recall much of her life before then. All she knew was that after the accident, she was a cyborg. The car had flipped on its right side, which was why she was more disproportionately affected there. She'd lost her leg, her arm, severed her spine, and damaged her brain. Which was why she'd had to have the surgery, a surgery that replaced much of her body and, essentially, made her into a robot.

Being a cyborg was a source of shame in Zenith. It gave her the emotion of a person and the abilities of a robot, which was helpful most of the time. But there was also lingering resentment against cyborgs, particularly since they were more easily able to perform motor tasks than regular people. As a result, many pointed out that it was unfair that a person should be able to advance farther in the work sector, just because she had an ability that was naturally enhanced.

Tecna could understand why many people felt like this. But what they didn't realize was that much of what she'd learned wasn't innate ability. It had come through laborious years of practice and hard work.

And yet, I'm still not good enough, she thought sadly. I still keep on screwing up. She had always prided herself on her calculations, her ability to deduce and decide through reason and logic. And yet, she'd made some very poor decisions last year. She'd mistakenly identified Avalon as the Angel of Doom (even though he had turned out to be a traitor) and her mistake had caused the Trix to get the Codex in Cloud Tower.

I caused so many mistakes last year, and it's all because I kept losing control. I kept on thinking about Timmy, when I should have been thinking about my duty, my duty to my friends and my school. She clenched her fist.

No more. I cannot allow myself to slip up. I cannot keep on making mistakes. Timmy's going to have to take the backseat for now. The thought sent a wave of sadness through her, but she ignored it, continuing to gaze up at the screen.

The screens around her scanned every part of her body. The android walked to the main computer and connected herself to it, no doubt synthesizing the information. Tecna could feel the transfer of energy between the several computers, and the main computer to the android. Finally, Sammy disconnected herself, printing out a slip of paper. She handed it to Tecna.

Tecna looked down at the paper. A green check-mark was next to everything. Good. The android handed her clothes back.

"Let me know when you want the doors to be opened," she said.

Tecna gazed down at the covering she used to disguise her arm and leg. It was a fleshy cover, and felt like regular skin at touch; however, it was illegal to wear one in Zenith. We have to be labeled at all times… It was legal to wear one in Magix, though, and she'd never taken it off once in her stay at Alfea.

There was a reason why she barely hugged any of her friends, and it all came down to one word: cyborg. Although the flesh-covering was extremely good, there was always the chance that it might slip, revealing her for who she was. That, and the fact that hugs were an alien concept in her household, except for the occasional one-arm squeeze on birthdays. She wasn't all that comfortable with people touching her.

"Have a nice day," Sammy chirped as she finished dressing, walking out of the door.

Tecna gazed at the screen ahead of her. It was filled with the usual propaganda, all stories about Zenith's glory and strength. All of this she was used to; it was very common to see in Zenith. However, there was something she saw on the screen she hadn't seen before: a sign that read TALKS WITH LINPHEA.

Tecna halted. What's going on? Why was Zenith talking to Linphea?

She closed her eyes and focused on her internal brain wiring. Her computer connected to the Web, and she focused her eyes.

Linphea, she commanded the computer to look up.

Immediately, information popped up on her screen. Zenith's Web was, unfortunately, very censored, and she wished she'd found the information in Magix. But I didn't know… She sighed and chose an article online.

Talks with Linphea largely successful, Zenith emerges victorious

Tecna knew enough to know that this headline article was crud. Zenith had never had good relations with Linphea; Linphea had been a Zenithian colony, after all. Even after Zenith had backed off, it had never stopped trying to exert its control. None of the other members of the UR would do anything about it, for they feared Zenith just as much as everyone else.

Nevertheless, Tecna scanned through the article, trying to find the information she desired.

On 8 Trimensis 999, Her Magnificence, the Great Premier Medea Alexandrova spoke with Queen Rachel of Linphea. Their talk was largely successful, with Linphea agreeing to eliminate its tariffs on produce.

"I believe we can look towards a bright future," said Mr. Aranov, spokesman for Premier Alexandrova.

Since her ascent as head of state in 937, Premier Alexandrova has done nothing but good for the Zenithian people. She has given grants to workers, stabilized the economy, and stood up for Zenith's prestige in the world. She has also tackled the Linphean issue head-on, stopping the greedy Linphean farmers from charging exorbitantly high rates for their fresh produce.

As for the Premier herself, she has some words of wisdom for her citizens.

"Don't worry about anything," she says. "Our economy is safe, and in good hands. We, the Zenithians, are taking back the glory we once had as Emperors of the Magical Dimension, and we will soon be victorious once more. In the meantime, everyone keep doing your work for the good of your Motherland!"

All hail the Great Premier! May she rule for a thousand years!

The last two sentences were printed in every news article. She swallowed hard, wondering what was going on.

Maybe I can contact Flora and find if she has any information. If she had the time, that was. A transport machine zoomed up to her, and she heard the automated voice: "Where do you want to go?"

"Programming wing," Tecna said automatically, sitting in the cable car. She zoomed down the alley, until, after a few minutes, she'd reached the wing she was looking for.

A robot greeted her, by the name of Mischa. At least, that was what Tecna called him – not that the android had any concept of gender, of course. He nodded to her and escorted her down to the wing.

"Good day, Anastasia," he said. "I have some work for you." He pointed to the screen. "Log on."

Tecna picked a cable out of the drawer and motioned for the robot to hold it. "Plug this into my control panel," she ordered. The robot lifted her shirt, reached her electrical sockets in her back, and plugged the cord in.

Tecna gasped at the familiar jolt of electricity running through her back. I'm connected to the computer now… The computer's feed popped up in her brain almost instantly, prompting her to log in.

She never did this at Alfea; after all, people would notice if she had an electric cord sticking out of her back. But here, at Zenith, it made her jobs a whole lot easier. She was able to connect wholly into the computer, coding directly from her brain. She logged in, and instantly gasped.

REPROGRAM BIOTECH ROBOTS, the feed flashed across her brain. REROUTE WIRELESS IN COMPUTER 3459. REPAIR SET 67395505.

"Mr. Vasiliev expects you to be done by tonight," Mischa stated, and then left.

Tecna sighed. If she ever lagged behind on a task, Mr. Vasiliev would punish her and have her stay on task. It had only happened a few times, but those times were unpleasant enough for Tecna to know that failure was not an option.

I'd just better get started, she thought. And make sure I do my job. Sighing, she sat down and began to work.

Her fingers clicked the keyboard as she fixed algorithms, changing different sequences. Panting, she typed as fast as she could, trying to get to the next task.

I have to finish this. She remembered the times when she had been on a mission for Alfea, and rerouted the spacecraft's computers with Timmy. Timmy… That adorable cubby face, those tender eyes…

Stop it, she scolded herself. Not now. I can't think about him now. Her fingers wobbled as she continued to type, one sequence after the other.

This is all there is now…


I hope you guys enjoyed this part! Yes, in this story, Tecna will be a cyborg. There's also a lot more going on, so stay tuned!