Sophia stared at the bedroom ceiling in boredom. Moonlight lit her room, and her bedsheets were pulled up to her waist as she lie on her back. She was dressed in a rather odd nightgown, colored white and decorated with a distinct pattern of pink cat paws. This motif was reflected in the collection of small, cat-themed plush toys that occupied her nightstand and the closest windowsill. The distant, muffled roar of nighttime travelers could be heard coming from the floor below, but this didn't seem to be what was keeping the young sorceress awake.
Suddenly, her faint frown transformed into a smile and her eyes filled with a bright sparkle. She spoke seemingly to herself in a soft voice.
"Hi Mr. Lansfeld."
"We're connected."
The lab tech leaned back into his seat as he addressed his stern-faced employer. Just as before, a solitary render of Sophia filled his computer screen. Luther provided a slight nod before responding.
"Good. Can I talk to her?"
The worker swiveled in his chair toward his employer with a raised eyebrow.
"You're referring to the program as a person now, sir?"
A rare smile crossed the executive's lips. His tone seemed to become slightly more whimsical as well.
"Yeah, I can kind of see how she grows on you. Ever since her little tweaking, she's been better behaved then most real women I know."
The technician seemed to be amused by this response, womanizing comments aside. He replied as he reached for a microphone headset sitting beside his console and handed the device to his superior.
"Right. Anyway, just put this on and it's like talking to anyone over a radio."
Luther placed the headset over his ears accordingly, adjusted the small receiver, and spoke.
"Good evening, Sophia. Are you ready for your diagnostic test?"
He heard a response almost instantly. It was the voice of a young woman coming from his headphones, sounding sweet and happy.
"Yes, sir."
Luther smirked again before turning back the technician's status screen.
"How's she looking?"
The sound of keystrokes filled the room as the technician entered various commands at his station. A collection of status monitors flashed across the computer screen before he finally came up with an answer.
"Her vitals are all normal, and the new code isn't causing any memory leaks. Aside from having a virtual CT scan that looks like someone tore her brain to pieces and put it back together with duct tape, she seems to be a perfectly healthy teenage girl."
Another nod was given by Luther. He then returned his attention to the microphone.
"Sophia, what is your purpose?"
Sophia closed her eyes and smiled toward the bedroom ceiling. She walked through her qualifications in a singsong tone.
"I'm a helper application currently assigned to the Peterny Craftsman Guild. I assist players in creating equipment when Welch is off duty. As a modified mage-type, I'm best at Symbology, synthesis, and virus extermination."
She heard her commander's voice again, echoing deeply from somewhere in her ears.
"Good. Now, please tell me what you remember from two months, eight days, five hours, and twenty-three minutes ago."
Her smile brightened as cheerful memories flooded through her mind.
"That was the moment I was activated, Mr. Lansfeld. You created me to infiltrate and eliminate a group of rogue viruses."
The voice rumbled through her ear again.
"Do you remember anything before that?"
She blinked as her eyes briefly turned to the side. She then tilted her head curiously, feeling uncertain of her own thoughts.
"Um... my memory banks appear to extend much further back then they should, but most of the older data has been corrupted beyond repair. I think it's left over from my previous version."
Her puzzlement ended and her joyful expression returned before she spoke toward the air above her again.
"Should I delete the damaged files?"
Luther whispered in her ear after what sounded like a short chuckle.
"That would probably be for the best. I don't think you'll have any use for those anymore."
In response, Sophia slipped into a short meditation. When she was finished, she spoke cheerfully and awaited her master's praise.
"I've erased them, sir."
Luther watched the computer screen carefully to confirm what little remained of Sophia's original consciousness was recycled into free hard drive space. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he turned to the technician.
"Did you finish writing the update?"
The worker nodded, then opened a page of uncompiled programming code in a separate window.
"It's right here."
Luther scanned the project briefly before questioning his employee.
"Will it take as long as last time?"
The technician shook his head as Sophia's 3D render swiftly dissolved into another screen full of programming language.
"No. I made all of her code open source during the first procedure so she'd be more accessible if we needed to make more revisions. This won't be anywhere near as invasive."
Luther thought to himself in silence, then grinned.
"In other words, you made her easy."
This statement caught the programmer off guard, and he struggled to find an appropriate response.
"That's... not what I'd call it..."
Luther simply shrugged before changing his tone to a more professional manner.
"In any case, I appreciate the effort. She's much more valuable to me now, and it would be a shame if one of our alterations made her non-functional."
He then shifted the microphone back to his mouth and spoke calmly.
"Sophia, I want you to relax. We're going to make some further modifications to you, but don't worry. This will make you even more powerful."
The girl's voice echoed through his headphones again, sounding as delighted as ever.
"Thanks."
Sophia's eyes were closed and a serene expression encompassed her face. When her trance ended, she sighed deeply and grinned upward.
"It's finished installing. I feel stronger already."
She soon heard Luther's voice again, this time explaining her newfound power.
"You now have a subroutine that will you allow you to detect any more dangers to the Eternal Sphere from anywhere in your universe. Use it and tell me if you find anything out of the ordinary."
Sophia appeared to enter deep thought for a few seconds. When she was finished, she shared her findings with her invisible superior.
"My sensors indicate LV-426 in the Grimlak system is approaching the evolutionary threshold. Should I investigate?"
Luther's voice replied to her rewardingly.
"Please do."
Her eyes filled with enthusiastic stars, and she questioned Luther again in an excited voice.
"Would you like me to depart right now? My teleportation skill can take me there instantly."
Her master's voice tranquilized her when she heard it again.
"There's no need to rush, Sophia. Get a good night's rest, then head out first thing in the morning."
She fell into a state of mild disappointment, but her smile returned with her next inquiry.
"What should I do with the lifeforms there if I confirm they're close to breaching 4D space?"
The response she heard came in a dark and ominous character.
"Annihilate them."
Sophia nodded in gleeful obedience before speaking toward the ceiling a final time.
"Thank you, sir."
She then quietly rolled to her side and let her head sink into her pillows, now having something to look forward to.
Note: I swear to god it was Kage Koutetsu Yume's idea to turn Sophia into Nia Teppelin.