Things were vaguely fuzzy.
This didn't bother her as much as it should have, probably because she couldn't really remember things NOT being fuzzy.
In any case, things were vaguely fuzzy. She was seeing… she was seeing a memory.
She was at the zoo. She was at the zoo with her otoosan. Her father.
She never had understood what the other kids thought was wrong with her father. Most adults just assumed he was some sort of guardian. In a way, it was entirely understandable.
After all, most children's father's aren't around eight feet tall, and barrel-chested with very big hands. Of course, most children's fathers don't regularly open up their children's skulls and mess around in there with electrical instruments, but she had been led to understand that this wasn't really to be talked about at the time.
She was… seven at the time? Yes, that's what her otoosan had told her she was. The significance of the number still escaped her. The words 'years old' were often associated with that number in her memory. Once someone had asked her when she would be eight.
In retrospect, 'When 'toosan says I am.' May not have been the best answer. That had been her last day at that school.
Not that she could remember much else from that school anyways. Or anywhere for that matter. All she could remember now was what she had thought since realizing that this was a memory she was seeing.
She remembered running for some reason, then tripping…. A cut, some vaguely purplish blood on her knee… Her father scooping her up in his huge hand, comforting her….and then…
The memory left.
Oh well, there were bound to be others.
She became aware of a sensation of being very alone. Groggily, she opened her eyes.
Ouch. Too bright.
She blinked rapidly, eyes adjusting to light for the first time again.
Something felt….off, somehow. Sitting up, she looked around, and saw that she was in a basically empty room. There was the wierd contraption she was lying in, which seemed a little bit familiar, a few wooden chairs, and a really big mirror. But… none of that was the source of the strangeness. She looked down at herself.
Oh. That was what was strange. She was a lot bigger than she remembered. Her feet and hands seemed awfully far away, compared to normal.
She shook her head. Normal? What was she using as a reference point?
Worry about that later. Examining herself, she found that she was wearing a long, pleated skirt and a surprisingly comfortable blouse. Her shoes, however…
She wasn't wearing shoes. Instead, she had on some sort of really big metallic boot. What on earth were those for?
Dash Boots at 0% functionality. All dash jet controls have been blocked. Suggest obtaining repairs.
She blinked. Surprised, she spoke out loud.
"Da-shu Butsu?"
Error. Dash jet controls inaccessible at this time.
This was weird.
Warning. Unknown warp signal approaching. Suggest preparing for self- defense. Do you wish to equip your Buster Y/N?
"Nan da?"
A strange blue beam came down from the ceiling in plain view. As she watched it, she was surprised to see it stop just above the floor, then coalesce into a person in blue armor and a blue bodysuit. Something about his armor seemed vaguely familiar.
The two occupants of the room stared at each other for a few seconds.
Finally, the person in the blue armor spoke.
"Good morning." He said, remaining at his distance from her.
She looked at him, puzzled. What had he just said? It sounded slightly familiar…
The person in blue waited for a few seconds, then looked slightly disappointed. He decided to try again. Pointing to himself, he spoke again.
"X" he said.
She nodded slowly, and pointed at him. "Ek'su."
'X' then pointed at her and cocked an eyebrow up.
It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. She pointed at herself.
"Kimiko." She stated.
X tilted his head a moment, then looked at her again. "Kimiko-san, anata wa Eigo ga hanashimas'ka?"
Kimiko smiled slightly. Now she could understand him. "Ee, s'koshi Eigo ga hanashimas'. Ano… koko wa doko da?"
X frowned slightly. "Sumimasen… Eigo ga hanashimasu, onegai…"
Kimiko nodded, a troubled expression crossing her face. Quickly enough, she figured it out.
"Wheru am' I?" She asked, with a thick Japanese accent.
"I'm sorry." Replied X. "I can't tell you right now. I may be able to later."
She frowned. "Why… Why not'?"
X sighed. "Would you believe, we're still trying to figure that out?"
Kimiko gave him a blank look. "I… not' un'derstandu."
X frowned slightly. "I don't know." He tilted his head slightly. "Stay there… I'll be right back."
X dissipated back into a blue beam, which exited via the ceiling.
Kimiko watched, wondering if she could do that.
Error. Warp systems have been locked out. Unable to access. Suggest system scan to determine source of error.
System scan?
System scan. Will determine presence of virus/damage to files of system.
Are virus and damage good or bad things?
Negative. Virus and file damage qualify as 'harm'.
Begin system scan.
Affirmative. Scan will take approximately two minutes. Please do not engage in strenuous activity until scan is complete.
Zero and Dr. Cain turned to X as he warped in inside the room on the other side of the 'mirror'.
"English dictionary/encyclopedia chip, right X?" Suggested Dr. Cain.
X nodded. "It's a little odd to have to get one, though. At least we know she's probably from Japan, possibly a household-only reploid originally, considering that she doesn't have English skills."
Cain shrugged. "Whatever it takes to figure this out- within reason, that is."
The reploid sitting at the mike controls, a wallaby-type, was sent to retrieve the chip from the archives.
"I still don't think that was the safest thing to do, X."
X looked at Zero. "Look, if we're going to get her to talk to us, we need her to trust us to some degree. She's more likely to trust us if someone comes in to talk to her in person. I know, I know. We could have sent in one of the big guys with the big guns, but if you found yourself in a mostly empty room with one of those, how would you react?"
Zero sighed. "I suppose you're right. I still don't like this, though. We don't even have a clue where she came from."
Arnie stepped back into the small room, and handed X the chip. "'Ere y'go, X."
X nodded his thanks, and the 'wallaboid' took his seat at the controls of the closed-circuit mikes.
In a flare of blue, X warped out again.
Kimiko looked up at X as he finished warping in again.
"Ecksu," She began, "Why do I know' my name'?"
X blinked. "Hold on a second… Here, do you know what to do with this?" He held up the chip.
Kimiko looked at the chip.
Do I know what that is?
Affirmative. Item is memory-storage chip of unknown type. Unknown parameters and volume. Subject can be linked to through subcutaneous input jack.
Where is 'subcutaneous input jack'?
Subcutaneous input jack located in right hand, ventral side, behind third knuckle.
Kimiko nodded. "Is… How' to say'… memori chippu."
X nodded. "This will tell you how to speak good English." He took a step forward, offering it to her.
Kimiko eyed him warily for a moment. A memory surfaced, only a fraction of it.
'Never accept candy, memory, or other objects from normal strangers. But if the stranger looks like this…'
There was a flash of a picture. In it were a small group of people. The one in the middle…
She compared the image in her memory to the person standing in front of her.
They were… similar. Not the same, but enough alike…..
Cautiously, she walked slowly over to X, and took the chip from him. Eyes on him the whole time, she brought the chip to the back of her right hand. An undetectably thin break in her synthskin parted, permitting the memory chip to be plugged into the back of her hand.
Scanning external memory source. Parameters defined. Informational content defined. Directions defined. Do you wish to install memory labeled "English Language" Y/N
Yes.
Confirmed. Please be seated. Program will terminate within 5-10 minutes with current memory available. Do you wish to pause programming scan to speed up process Y/N
….Yes.
Confirmed.
Kimiko walked over to the contraption she had woken up on, and sat down.
Her eyes went blank as the installation began. She only hoped she had made the right choice, trusting this… abnormal stranger.
X stood, watched, and waited.
And that's chapter two. This one will go somewhat slowly- I'm writing two other fics at higher speed, and I only get the mood to write this every once in a while.
I'm not sure about the whole memory chip/subcutaneous jack thing, but it kind of makes sense to me. After all, how would reploids hook up to the education systems for a faster learning process? Mind, certain things, like personal experiences, probably couldn't really be transferred or downloaded this way, but…
Erico, tell me what you think of this one.
Heck, everyone tell me what you think. Really. Two reviews? Why doesn't anyone read this? My other fics got four reviews on the first chapter alone. Each.
Ah, well. I'll just be left wondering.
If you want to Email me, check my author profile. My real Email address is in there.
Anyhoo…
The mystery of where Kimiko is from isn't resolved yet.
Nor why her memories are hazy.
And I haven't even introduced the evil plot yet, either.
Loooooong way to go.
Till next time, Ja ne!
"It's not whether or not you win.
It's not how you play the game.
It's whether or not everyone has fun."
-Me
This didn't bother her as much as it should have, probably because she couldn't really remember things NOT being fuzzy.
In any case, things were vaguely fuzzy. She was seeing… she was seeing a memory.
She was at the zoo. She was at the zoo with her otoosan. Her father.
She never had understood what the other kids thought was wrong with her father. Most adults just assumed he was some sort of guardian. In a way, it was entirely understandable.
After all, most children's father's aren't around eight feet tall, and barrel-chested with very big hands. Of course, most children's fathers don't regularly open up their children's skulls and mess around in there with electrical instruments, but she had been led to understand that this wasn't really to be talked about at the time.
She was… seven at the time? Yes, that's what her otoosan had told her she was. The significance of the number still escaped her. The words 'years old' were often associated with that number in her memory. Once someone had asked her when she would be eight.
In retrospect, 'When 'toosan says I am.' May not have been the best answer. That had been her last day at that school.
Not that she could remember much else from that school anyways. Or anywhere for that matter. All she could remember now was what she had thought since realizing that this was a memory she was seeing.
She remembered running for some reason, then tripping…. A cut, some vaguely purplish blood on her knee… Her father scooping her up in his huge hand, comforting her….and then…
The memory left.
Oh well, there were bound to be others.
She became aware of a sensation of being very alone. Groggily, she opened her eyes.
Ouch. Too bright.
She blinked rapidly, eyes adjusting to light for the first time again.
Something felt….off, somehow. Sitting up, she looked around, and saw that she was in a basically empty room. There was the wierd contraption she was lying in, which seemed a little bit familiar, a few wooden chairs, and a really big mirror. But… none of that was the source of the strangeness. She looked down at herself.
Oh. That was what was strange. She was a lot bigger than she remembered. Her feet and hands seemed awfully far away, compared to normal.
She shook her head. Normal? What was she using as a reference point?
Worry about that later. Examining herself, she found that she was wearing a long, pleated skirt and a surprisingly comfortable blouse. Her shoes, however…
She wasn't wearing shoes. Instead, she had on some sort of really big metallic boot. What on earth were those for?
Dash Boots at 0% functionality. All dash jet controls have been blocked. Suggest obtaining repairs.
She blinked. Surprised, she spoke out loud.
"Da-shu Butsu?"
Error. Dash jet controls inaccessible at this time.
This was weird.
Warning. Unknown warp signal approaching. Suggest preparing for self- defense. Do you wish to equip your Buster Y/N?
"Nan da?"
A strange blue beam came down from the ceiling in plain view. As she watched it, she was surprised to see it stop just above the floor, then coalesce into a person in blue armor and a blue bodysuit. Something about his armor seemed vaguely familiar.
The two occupants of the room stared at each other for a few seconds.
Finally, the person in the blue armor spoke.
"Good morning." He said, remaining at his distance from her.
She looked at him, puzzled. What had he just said? It sounded slightly familiar…
The person in blue waited for a few seconds, then looked slightly disappointed. He decided to try again. Pointing to himself, he spoke again.
"X" he said.
She nodded slowly, and pointed at him. "Ek'su."
'X' then pointed at her and cocked an eyebrow up.
It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. She pointed at herself.
"Kimiko." She stated.
X tilted his head a moment, then looked at her again. "Kimiko-san, anata wa Eigo ga hanashimas'ka?"
Kimiko smiled slightly. Now she could understand him. "Ee, s'koshi Eigo ga hanashimas'. Ano… koko wa doko da?"
X frowned slightly. "Sumimasen… Eigo ga hanashimasu, onegai…"
Kimiko nodded, a troubled expression crossing her face. Quickly enough, she figured it out.
"Wheru am' I?" She asked, with a thick Japanese accent.
"I'm sorry." Replied X. "I can't tell you right now. I may be able to later."
She frowned. "Why… Why not'?"
X sighed. "Would you believe, we're still trying to figure that out?"
Kimiko gave him a blank look. "I… not' un'derstandu."
X frowned slightly. "I don't know." He tilted his head slightly. "Stay there… I'll be right back."
X dissipated back into a blue beam, which exited via the ceiling.
Kimiko watched, wondering if she could do that.
Error. Warp systems have been locked out. Unable to access. Suggest system scan to determine source of error.
System scan?
System scan. Will determine presence of virus/damage to files of system.
Are virus and damage good or bad things?
Negative. Virus and file damage qualify as 'harm'.
Begin system scan.
Affirmative. Scan will take approximately two minutes. Please do not engage in strenuous activity until scan is complete.
Zero and Dr. Cain turned to X as he warped in inside the room on the other side of the 'mirror'.
"English dictionary/encyclopedia chip, right X?" Suggested Dr. Cain.
X nodded. "It's a little odd to have to get one, though. At least we know she's probably from Japan, possibly a household-only reploid originally, considering that she doesn't have English skills."
Cain shrugged. "Whatever it takes to figure this out- within reason, that is."
The reploid sitting at the mike controls, a wallaby-type, was sent to retrieve the chip from the archives.
"I still don't think that was the safest thing to do, X."
X looked at Zero. "Look, if we're going to get her to talk to us, we need her to trust us to some degree. She's more likely to trust us if someone comes in to talk to her in person. I know, I know. We could have sent in one of the big guys with the big guns, but if you found yourself in a mostly empty room with one of those, how would you react?"
Zero sighed. "I suppose you're right. I still don't like this, though. We don't even have a clue where she came from."
Arnie stepped back into the small room, and handed X the chip. "'Ere y'go, X."
X nodded his thanks, and the 'wallaboid' took his seat at the controls of the closed-circuit mikes.
In a flare of blue, X warped out again.
Kimiko looked up at X as he finished warping in again.
"Ecksu," She began, "Why do I know' my name'?"
X blinked. "Hold on a second… Here, do you know what to do with this?" He held up the chip.
Kimiko looked at the chip.
Do I know what that is?
Affirmative. Item is memory-storage chip of unknown type. Unknown parameters and volume. Subject can be linked to through subcutaneous input jack.
Where is 'subcutaneous input jack'?
Subcutaneous input jack located in right hand, ventral side, behind third knuckle.
Kimiko nodded. "Is… How' to say'… memori chippu."
X nodded. "This will tell you how to speak good English." He took a step forward, offering it to her.
Kimiko eyed him warily for a moment. A memory surfaced, only a fraction of it.
'Never accept candy, memory, or other objects from normal strangers. But if the stranger looks like this…'
There was a flash of a picture. In it were a small group of people. The one in the middle…
She compared the image in her memory to the person standing in front of her.
They were… similar. Not the same, but enough alike…..
Cautiously, she walked slowly over to X, and took the chip from him. Eyes on him the whole time, she brought the chip to the back of her right hand. An undetectably thin break in her synthskin parted, permitting the memory chip to be plugged into the back of her hand.
Scanning external memory source. Parameters defined. Informational content defined. Directions defined. Do you wish to install memory labeled "English Language" Y/N
Yes.
Confirmed. Please be seated. Program will terminate within 5-10 minutes with current memory available. Do you wish to pause programming scan to speed up process Y/N
….Yes.
Confirmed.
Kimiko walked over to the contraption she had woken up on, and sat down.
Her eyes went blank as the installation began. She only hoped she had made the right choice, trusting this… abnormal stranger.
X stood, watched, and waited.
And that's chapter two. This one will go somewhat slowly- I'm writing two other fics at higher speed, and I only get the mood to write this every once in a while.
I'm not sure about the whole memory chip/subcutaneous jack thing, but it kind of makes sense to me. After all, how would reploids hook up to the education systems for a faster learning process? Mind, certain things, like personal experiences, probably couldn't really be transferred or downloaded this way, but…
Erico, tell me what you think of this one.
Heck, everyone tell me what you think. Really. Two reviews? Why doesn't anyone read this? My other fics got four reviews on the first chapter alone. Each.
Ah, well. I'll just be left wondering.
If you want to Email me, check my author profile. My real Email address is in there.
Anyhoo…
The mystery of where Kimiko is from isn't resolved yet.
Nor why her memories are hazy.
And I haven't even introduced the evil plot yet, either.
Loooooong way to go.
Till next time, Ja ne!
"It's not whether or not you win.
It's not how you play the game.
It's whether or not everyone has fun."
-Me