Popola III
Popola sat with Lommy on the floor of their small room, a book spread open in front of them. "Okay, let's start with this word," she said, pointing to the page. "What does it say?"
Lommy squinted at the word. "A face ap-ap-appears," he stuttered.
"Good! And what's the next word?" Popola asked, pointing to the next one.
"A crown?" Lommy guessed uncertainty evident on his face.
"Very good!" Popola praised him he briefly seemed to light up at that. "Now, let's try to read the whole sentence together. 'A Face appears, a crown on his noble brow'.
Lommy looked at the sentence intently, sounding out each word carefully. "A Face appeas- appears, a crown on his noble brow" he read slowly, a triumphant grin spreading across his face as he realized he'd gotten it right.
"Excellent job, Lommy!" Popola exclaimed, giving him a pat on the back. "You're getting better and better every day."
Lommy frowned in concentration as he struggled with the next sentence, "The face is hand-." Lommy seemed to have given up halfway through the sentence.
Popola leaned in closer to him and helped him sound out the words, patiently guiding him through the sentence. "Lommy you know the word hand, and the word some right?" The boy looked up and nodded "You just have to combine the two together for this word. She could see the effort on his face as he struggled with the letters and then the word 'regal' following it, but she could also see the determination in his eyes. She was proud of him for wanting to learn and for putting in the effort despite the difficulty.
Popola spoke gleefully, "Thats right Lommy! The face is handsome and regal."
Popola nods and smiles at Lommy as he reads the next line with more confidence. "Good job, Lommy! You're getting the hang of this," she encourages him. They continue reading and Lommy starts to stumble on a longer word. She patiently guides him through it, breaking it down into syllables and helping him sound it out. Eventually, Lommy gets it and triumphantly finishes the sentence.
"Well done, Lommy! You're making great progress," Popola praises him. Lommy grins, clearly proud of himself. "Thanks. I'm really starting to like this Robin Hood. Can you read the rest?" Lommy looks to her with desperate eyes.
"Not yet Lommy, you know what I said I want you to try your best to finish the page."
Lommy reads the next sentence slowly, stumbling over some of the words. Popola watches him closely, ready to help him sound out any tricky words. As he reaches the end of the page, he looks up at Popola hopefully.
"Can we stop now?" he asks, his voice tinged with disappointment.
Popola shakes her head firmly. "No, Lommy. You need to read at least one chapter before we can stop."
Lommy pouts again, but he knows better than to argue with Popola. He takes a deep breath and begins to read the next page, sounding out each word carefully.
As he reads, Popola can see his confidence growing. By the time he finishes the second page, he is reading much more smoothly and confidently. She smiles at him, feeling proud of his progress.
"See, Lommy? You're getting better already," she says, patting him on the back.
Lommy grins up at her, clearly pleased with himself. "Yeah, I guess I am," he says . "Can you help me with the big words?"
Popola nods. "Of course. We'll keep going until you're amazing at reading, Lommy."
Lommy stumbles through the page, mispronouncing some words and struggling with others. Popola patiently corrects him and encourages him to try again, praising him when he gets it right. Lommy's face reddens with embarrassment, but he keeps going, determined to learn.
Suddenly, Devola bursts in, interrupting their reading session. Popola looks up, surprised by the sudden intrusion.
"Popola, we need to talk," Devola says urgently.
Popola nods, knowing that something serious must be going on.
"Sorry, Lommy," Popola said with a sympathetic smile as she returned her attention to the group.
"I don't want to cut our reading session short, but Devola has something important to share with me." She could see the disappointment on Lommy's face and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll pick up where we left off when we are done talking, okay?"
She looks to her sister again "Alright, let's go outside," she replies, motioning for Devola to follow her.
As they step outside, Devola hesitated for a moment before quietly speaking. She took a deep breath and looked at Popola with a mix of sadness and determination in her eyes.
"Popola, I need to talk to you about something," Devola said. "It's about a girl named Barra. Her sister was sold to someone by her father, but she doesn't know who. I heard about it from Barra herself and the father well he seems terrified by something or someone, I just was passing through on my way back here when I ran into Barra, and I couldn't stop thinking about it."
Popola's expression softened as she listened to Devola speak. She could see the pain in her sister's eyes and knew that this was not something to be taken lightly, it was important.
"I'm sorry, Devola," Popola said gently. "That's terrible. Is there anything we can do to help?"
Devola shook her head. "I don't know, Popola. I just feel so helpless. I can't stop thinking about what might have happened to her sister. It's like...I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in her position."
Popola reached out and placed a hand on Devola's shoulder. "I know it's hard, but you can't blame yourself for things that are out of your control. All we can do is try to help those around us and hope for the best and try to improve what we can."
Devola nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "I know, Popola. But it's just so hard sometimes."
Popola squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "I understand. And I'm here for you, no matter what. As we always have been for one another."
"I was thinking given you have your observer capabilities still, perhaps you could do a scan of the coins"
"I can, but keep in mind its currency so it'd be hard to discern where it truly came from, i can, however, isolate the more prominent traces, but theres always the chance whoever the girl was…. Sold to. Did not handle the coins much."
Devola nods in agreement with Popola's assessment. "That's a good point. I didn't think about the currency aspect of it. But if we can at least narrow down some of the more prominent DNA traces, that would be a start."
Popola nods in response. "Exactly. And I could definitely meet with the father and family to remove their DNA from the scan as well as use it to help search for the girl. The analysis may take some time and divert a few more resources to my processor, but it's possible."
Devola smiles. "Thank you, Popola. I knew you would have some ideas on how to help."
Popola returns the smile. "Of course, I'm always happy to help. But it won't be easy. DNA analysis is a complex process and it takes time and resources to do it properly."
Devola nods. "I understand. We'll do whatever it takes to find Barra's sister and bring her back home."
Lommy looks up from his book, curious about the conversation. "Who's Barra?" he asks.
Devola and Popola exchange a look before Devola turns to Lommy. "Barra is a girl we know who has a missing sister. We're trying to help find her."
Lommy furrows his brow and scratches his head. " kids go missing sometime. I don't really know why though. Maybe they get lost or eaten by the monsters. Yoelith always says they are with the gods now… " He shrugs and then looks up at Popola.
Popola swallows uncomfortably then softly nods then stands up determined. "We're doing everything we can to bring her back home."
Devola stands up from her chair, holding the silver coins in her hand. "Well, we better get started."
Popola nods and watches as Devola paces the room, her mind no doubt already buzzing with ideas on how to approach the DNA analysis of the coins. As she turns her attention back to Lommy, she notices he's still looking up at her with a curious expression.
"Can I keep reading?" he asks, holding up the book.
Popola smiles. "Of course. Let's finish the chapter."
"Actually, I can finish reading it to you Lommy if you'd like." Devola Chimes in and Lommy seems particularly excited about the proposal.
The implication that Popola could attend to scanning and breaking down the dna on the coins as her sister read to Lommy not being lost on her.
Lommy seemed enthused at the prospect and Popola nodded knowingly towards her sister and began her work.
Popola carefully placed the coin on her desk, accessing her more in depth scan functions peering at the stags as she adjusted the focus. "This may take a while," she said, her eyes still glued to the coin. "DNA analysis is a slow process, and we have to scan each individual particle to get an accurate reading."
Devola nodded, watching Popola work with a keen interest. She knew how meticulous and detail-oriented her sister could be, especially when it came to something as important as finding a missing person. It was a shame her own capabilities were not functioning, must be hard for her to not be able to directly aid when it came to this.
As Popola continued her analysis, she couldn't help but feel a sense of discomfort at the idea of someone being sold for money. It was a cruel and inhumane practice, and she hoped that they could find something in the DNA scan that would lead them to the girl and her captor.
After what felt like an eternity, Popola finally stopped the analysis of the coin, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "I've scanned every particle I can on this coin," she said, her voice heavy. "And I've found a few prominent DNA traces, but it's going to take some time to analyze them and determine whose they are even moreso, considering there is not much an existing dna database, so in large part ill have to read the dna of others we come across"
Devola leaned in closer, her eyes shining with hope. "Did you find anything that could lead us to Barra's sister?"
Popola hesitated for a moment before responding. "It's too soon to say," she said carefully. "But I'm hopeful that we might find something that could help us."
Devola nodded, her heart beating a little faster with anticipation. She knew that they still had a long way to go, but with Popola's expertise and determination, she felt confident that they would find the girl and bring her home.
Awhile after Devola finished another chapter of Robin Hood and she got back from escorting Lommy safely back to the orphanage. Popola finally managed to isolate the three strongest dna traces.
"Devola, I finally managed to isolate the three strongest DNA traces from the coins," Popola said as she entered the room. "There's a chance that we can use this information to track down the girl who was sold."
Popola replied with a hint of anxiety in her voice. "I'll need to use my scanner functions to match the DNA against our database of citizens I have analysis of the DNA of. It's not a foolproof method, but it's the best shot we have."
Devola nodded, understanding the difficulties of the task. "Let's get started, then. We have to find this girl and bring her back to her family."
Popola smiled, feeling grateful for Devola's unwavering determination. "I'm with you all the way, Devola."
Despite earlier hope, no one in her database appeared to be a match. Internally she chided herself for not analyzing every single trace of DNA information she came across before now it was something they agreed to only utilize in the case of medical emergencies, and dire situations. She also just naturally built up analysis of those she came into close or near contact with often yet it did not seem to be enough.
She was readying herself to tell Devola, but based on her face it seemed like her sister already had an understanding of what was happening,
Popola turned to Devola. "Maybe we should talk to Henrik about it. He might know something that could help us."
Devola hesitated for a moment before nodding. "You're right, it's worth a shot."
Popola could tell that Devola was still uneasy about the situation, but she was glad that her sister agreed to try. They both stood up and made their way towards the door.
As they were leaving, Lommy called out to them. "Good luck!" he said with a small smile.
As they stepped out into the relatively busy streets, Popola scanned the area for any sign of Henrik. She knew from experience that he usually patrolled the area around the market square, so they headed in that direction.
As they walked, Popola could see the worry etched on Devola's face. She knew her sister was thinking about the girl who had been sold and the desperate search to find her. Popola couldn't blame her; the thought of someone being sold like an object was deeply unsettling.
After a few minutes of searching, they spotted Henrik standing at the edge of the market, talking to a few merchants. Popola approached him, and he turned to greet them with a smile.
"Good to see you both. What brings you here?" he asked.
Popola hesitated for a moment before explaining the situation with Barra's sister leaving out the part with coins with potential DNA evidence for now. Henrik listened intently, his expression growing serious.
"I see," he said slowly. "That's certainly troubling. I don't know if I have any leads for you."
"Would you be able to bring it up with other trustworthy members of the city watch to look into it?" Popola leaned forward slightly, her tone cordial as she tried to inquire.
Popola and Devola exchanged a look as Henrik remained quiet shifting uncomfortably in his seat. They had come to him with questions about Barra's missing sister, hoping that as a member of the city watch, he might have some insight into the situation. But it seemed like Henrik was reluctant to even speak on the matter.
"It's a delicate situation," Henrik finally said, his voice low. "I'm not sure it's something I should be getting involved in."
Devola frowned. "But don't you want to help? Isn't that why you joined the city watch?"
Henrik hesitated before responding. "Of course, but...this seems like a matter beyond my station. I'm not sure I can do anything to help."
Popola's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "But yet you're in the city watch, intent on helping and watching over the city. How can you ignore a crime like this?"
Henrik looked down at his hands, his expression troubled. "I'm not ignoring it," he said quietly. "It's just...complicated. There are forces at play here that I don't fully understand."
Devola stared at Henrik incredulously, her voice laced with anger. "Do you even care about the city at all? A child is missing and you're just going to ignore it?"
Henrik bristled at the accusation. "Of course I care about the city! I've dedicated my life to the city watch and I've done a lot to improve things around here."
Henrik leans back in his chair, his expression softening as he recalls his own journey into the city watch. "When I was a boy, my family kept getting robbed. It was a tough time, and I saw firsthand the kind of devastation that crime can bring."
He pauses for a moment, his eyes distant, as he relives those painful memories. "Our home was broken into multiple times. They took everything of value we had - our jewelry, our silverware, even our clothes. But it wasn't just the loss of material things. My father and brother were badly beaten in one of the robberies, and my brother never fully recovered from the experience. We were all living in fear."
He takes a deep breath and continues. "But then, the city watch stepped in. They increased their presence in our neighborhood and started cracking down on criminal activity. It wasn't an overnight solution, but slowly, things began to improve. We no longer lived in fear of being robbed every night. And that's when I realized that I wanted to make a difference in this city, to help prevent other families from going through what mine did."
Henrik's voice grows more impassioned as he speaks, his gaze fixed on Devola and Popola. "And I've done just that. The watch has made incredible strides in quelling criminal activity in the city. We've put away countless murderers, rapists, and thieves. We've made the city safer for everyone, and that's no small feat. But there are certain things that are beyond our reach, things that we simply can't investigate. This, unfortunately, is one of them."
Popola couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated and surprised at Henrik's lack of assistance, but she also recognized that he felt strongly about not getting involved in any capacity. She knew that he had his own reasons, and it was not her place to push him further.
"Thank you for your time, Henrik," she said, a bit tersely. "We'll keep looking into it ourselves."
Henrik nodded, his expression still tense. "I strongly advise against that, though all the same I wish you the best of luck, may the mother be merciful and the father just" he said before turning back to his patrol.
She supposed he was not wrong either, this could no doubt bring danger to those who look into it, perhaps it was for the best less humans were involved. Still it did not make her feel much better about his seeming lack of desire to look into the situation. Devola however looked even more upset than she was.
As her sister led her towards the house the girl Barra she spoke of lived in. Popola's discomfort grew as she thought farther about the situation with Barra's sister Leerah. She couldn't shake off the memories of the past, the many human lives it took to find a viable candidate for the first gestalt. She remembered the kids who were sold and bought by the Hamelin organization, children who were exploited and used for experiments. The process was cruel and inhumane, but it was done for the sake of humanity.
However, Popola couldn't understand the purpose behind this new dimension they were dealing with. She felt a sense of unease and dread, as if there was no noble goal behind this terrible cruelty. To her, the idea of a child being sold for money was abhorrent, a violation of basic human rights. She thought back on the love the shades and even the replicants had for their children. The love and hope they held for them, the pain both felt when they were gone. To willingly give such a thing up, what type of person could do so. Though Devola's words seemed to indicate there was something more complicated happening here.
Despite her discomfort taking her focus for a moment, Popola knew that she had to do her best to find the girl who had been sold. It was a long shot, but she had narrowed down the DNA samples to three possibilities. She was determined to exhaust all possible leads and find the girl, not just for Devola's sake but for the sake of justice and the well-being of the child.
Popola and Devola arrived at the door of Barra's family, both feeling anxious about what they might find out. The father answered the door, looking wary and defensive.
"Please, sir," Popola began bringing focus into her scan, "we just want to help. We're not here to cause any trouble, we just want to find her and make sure she's safe."
The man's expression softened slightly, but he still looked hesitant. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, avoiding their gaze. "I already spoke to one of you earlier today. I don't have anything more to say."
DNA of Subject Analyzed, Male, 34
Devola stepped forward. "We understand that you may have been in a difficult situation when you sold your daughter," she said gently. "We're not here to judge you. We just want to know if you have any information that could help us find her."
"Wait, Lucan maybe they could-" A woman chimed from the back.
The man hesitated for a moment, before finally speaking "Please, just leave I have nothing to tell you."
With that comment he seemed not to budge at all. Popola was prepared to offer some words of comfort, but the man simply shook his head and closed the door. It felt like the only good thing about this interaction was it provided her with enough data to isolate and remove his dna from the search for those involved. Well also storing it to help search for the girl based on her fathers DNA.
Devola seemed crushed by the father's unwillingness to share anything. She turned to Popola, her eyes filled with sadness. "I just don't understand," she said. "How could a parent sell their child like that? And then refuse to even help find them?"
Popola nodded sadly. "It's unfortunate that he wasn't willing to share any information, but at least we were able to get his DNA analysis and remove him from the isolated strains," she said, trying to look on the bright side.
Popola put a comforting hand on Devola's shoulder. "I know it's hard to understand, but we have to keep pushing forward," she said. "We'll find her, Devola. We won't give up."
Along the way Popola noticed something else, as they traversed the streets bordering flea bottom she caught glimpses, of the pipe system that was coming off the street of silk. It was a fair bit away, but she wondered. If the existing structure was there… Could it be put to use. With the correct metal and pipework, they could link it up with flea bottom. Seeing the sadness that was still present on her sister's face, she thought it might be good to get her mind off the situation.
As they walked, Popola said, "You know, Devola, I was thinking. The pipe system coming off the Street of Silk could potentially be used to help bring clean water to Flea Bottom, and flush out the dirty water. With some modifications, it could be a great solution to the water shortage and general filth problem."
Her sister's expression changed slightly as she considered the idea. "That's a really good point, Popola. We should definitely look into it."
As they continued down the street, Popola's sharp senses picked up on a faint sound in the distance. It was a subtle rustling, like footsteps. She glanced around but didn't see anyone nearby.
Devola hesitated before finally speaking up. "Actually, when I played on the Street of Silk earlier today, a woman named Alayaya proposed that I play at a brothel there. I thought given the area it could potentially pay quite well" she said, shrugging.
Popola furrowed her brow in concern. "Devola, I don't think it's a good idea for you to play at a brothel," she said hesitantly. "It's not safe and it goes against our programming as androids to engage in such activities."
"I won't be getting involved in anything like that, just playing at the brothel. If there's any confusion about that. I can certainly address it. I understand your concern, Popola, but I think it's worth considering. And with the idea you just proposed, if things go well, I could bring it up with someone who could potentially make it happen, or at the very least give us some information."
Popola's felt a familiar worry began to increase tenfold. "Devola, I don't know if that's a good idea. It's not safe, and you shouldn't have to resort to that kind of work just to make ends meet."
Her sister's face went into a soft smile. "I'm even more on board with the idea now. We could use the extra money, and if we're careful and smart about it, it could be a good opportunity for us."
"I just don't kno-" Suddenly the footsteps were heard again.
Devola's eyes widened as she turned her head in the direction of the sound. "Do you hear that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Popola immediately grew alert, looking around for any sign of danger. "What is it?" she asked.
Devola shook her head. "I'm not sure," she replied, her hand going up into a guarded positon. Then the footsteps were heard again, this time with a scraping noise against a different surface. Popola's gaze shifted towards the direction of the noise, which was coming from an empty and narrow street. Despite her keen eyesight, she saw nothing, and the footsteps abruptly vanished into thin air. However, her attention was soon drawn to the rooftops, where a tiny figure darted across. She focused on the figure prompting a more indepth scan to begin.
!DANGER! Unknown energy particle detected. Seeming to cause interference with biological scanner functions. Scan Inconclusive. Based on scan the unknown human life form is 74.6798% female, and 34.9809284782% male. Scan also indicates target is 89.0897% 37 years of age, but 15.8998% 12 years of age. All values marked as undefined due to impossible inputs. Suggestion try again when unknown particles are not present.
Popola's hand trembled as she looked farther at the scan data in disbelief. "This reading... it's unlike anything I've ever seen," she murmured to herself. Devola looked over at her sister, concern etched on her face. "What is it?" she asked, stepping closer.
"I don't know," Popola replied, her brow furrowed in confusion. "It's like... it's almost like there's a gap in the readings, like something is interfering with the signal." Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of the anomaly. Was it related to what had happened to Leerah? Could it be some sort of technology used by whoever was responsible for her disappearance?
Devola gave a determined smile. "We'll figure it out," she said firmly. "We always do." But despite her words, a sense of unease settled over them both as they continued on their mission to find the missing child.
A.N. This chapter got to be very long I felt it'd be more fitting to have it end here given what I have planned for the next chapter. . Originally was gonna go right into a Devola POV next chapter. Though unless I rework things a bit I probably will be posting another Popola POV. Also just quick mention despite how things may seem, the whole unknown particle situation, isn't exactly connected to Leerah.
Some things I thought i'd clear the air about my intention for this story is for it to have multiple protagonists essentially that goes well beyond the twins and Gendry. Though I will say everything will in some way be relevant to the twins. Things will expand more as the story continues. I do have everything pretty well planned out to be consistently connected though admittedly some of the side stories in this first half of arc 1 (the pre canon half) may not be as complex as later installments, Still hope everyone enjoys what I have planned for these early parts of the story im admittedly itching to get to the bigger things I have planned. Though I also wanna spend a good amount of time going into some of the aspects of KL and events in this area of asoiaf, where a lot of the events that happened around now are known or at least theorized but are not really explored in canon.
Anyways curious everyones thoughts and more importantly curious what everyone thinks of my characterization of Devola and Popola thus far? Do they seem accurate?
I also was wondering what everyone thought of Lommy I understand he is not in the canon for long but is my portrayal of him in character or OOC?
Finally was wondering in general if theres any aspects of the story you would like to see more or less of. I can not promise I will always abide by this if its important to my overall plot plans, but its something I definitely want some input on and will actively try to incorporate and take reader feedback in mind. I want this story to be something truly enjoyable. There will be things I can't budge much on but theres plenty of things that could easily be considered without much hassle as well.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter any suggestions are appreciated.