Chapter Two. Max finally makes an appearance. And since Max calling Mathias "Dada" in A Warrior Reborn was greatly recieved, i included it in this chapter. Ada Lovelace also makes an appearance. Future reference, Coop will probably make an appearance in this story too. this is giving me the opportunity to include characters who didn't make it in either ATS or in AWR. I'm also not an expert on romance novels so I kept the romance between Ada and Marbles to a minimum. Not that there was much of a romance between them in the show, anyway.

I don't own Cyberchase. If I did, it would still be broadcasting episodes to this day. I do own Max, Siren, Net, and Web.

Chapter Two
Planning Process

While Mathias knew he wanted to make a child, he had no idea where to even begin. He wasn't even sure if he would make a good father. The only fatherly example he had was Net, his own creator, but Net wasn't exactly a novel father, either. Net was busy being Chief Technician that he paid little attention to his two feuding boys.

Mathias was, in essence, having an identity crisis. Net had given Mathias several good examples of a bad example. Net had slipped up being a father, Mathias was worried he would do the same.

"I'm sure you would make a fine father, my dear Dr. Marbles." said Ada Mae Lovelace.

Mathias had called his sweetheart because he was having an identity crisis. But Ada Mae didn't want to discuss matters over the phone, so she requested for Motherboard to send a Transportal - the fastest way to get around Cyberspace. Right now, Mathias paced his room telling Ada Mae everything that was on his mind. For some reason, Ada Mae was easier to talk to than Motherboard.

He discussed the fact he felt a little neglected by Net, and it's sense he wasn't able to hold his relationship with Coop together, Mathias wasn't sure if he could hold a relationship with a young borg together either.

Ada Mae sat on Mathias' bed, hands folded daintily in her lap. She waited until he was done ranting before she spoke.

"Mathias, you're not Net. Your father was not cut out to be a father. That was known long before you and Cooper came along. He created you to continue his grandfather's legacy."

She patted the sideboard and did not continue speaking until Mathias had sat down - his pacing made her dizzy. Then, she leaned against him with her head on his shoulder in her hand in his.

"You're better than Net, Mathias. Everyone knows it. People like you. Your father was cold and distant. You're warm and close. I'm sure it your little girl will love you just the same."

Mathias was a little stunned. "Little girl?" he asked. He hadn't even thought about gender yet.

Ada Mae smiled. "Yes, I see you with a little girl. What do you think?"

Mathias smiled, too, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I like it, Ada Mae. I like it just fine." He could see a little female borg in his future.

0

Making a borg took a lot of planning. More planning them Mathias had anticipated. Nine months, to be exact, and the planning might not have needed to take that long enough Mathias hadn't been busy keeping Motherboard in proper working condition. Luckily for him, Ada Mae stuck around to help make the job go faster.

Along the way, Mathias located an old, rusty, four-drawer filing cabinet stowed away in a corner of a storage closet. The drawers were fused together with rust and eons of disuse. When Mathias squirted WD 40 into the cracks and wrenched a first drawer open he found it contained designs dating back to Siren's time. The second and third drawers had designs from Web and Net. The fourth drawer was empty.

Siren was a very organized borg to say the least. His designs were arranged in alphabetical order, and each designed with arranged in order of conception date. The concepts were also held together in groups with paper clips and more organized in a specific order: notes, blueprints, price lists, and to do lists. There were forty folders in all and each folder was stretched beyond capacity with ideas. Except for number twenty-three which wasn't near as full - only containing a few blueprints and notes. After staring at the notes a moment, Mathias realized number twenty-three was actually a design a for Siren's successor, Web.

Elated, Mathias searched the rest of the drawers and came up with designs from Web. Web's folders weren't near as neat as Siren's but the writing was legible. Mathias was particularly excited to find designs for Net. And when Mathias searched Net's drawer, he found designs from Net for his two boys.

"What did you find, Mathias?" Ada Mae asked. She heard him gasp with excitement and knew he had come up with something.

She came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his narrow waist, and rested her chin on his shoulder. Mathias hefted the folders and smiled at his sweetheart.

"Scroll down, my dear." he said. He headed out of the room.

Ada Mae had been with Mathias long enough to know that was his way of saying "come with me", so she followed him to his workshop and watched him spread the four folders out on the table.

"What are these, my dear?" Ada Mae asked.

Mathias stepped aside so she could read the labels. Then, she gasped and look up into his ecstatic features.

"You mean - these are -" she began.

"The plans for my forefathers. They're all here. All of them from my great-grandfather, Siren, to my brother and I. These will give me an idea to design my own successor."

Ada Mae hugged him. "I'm glad you found them. But, will it work the same for a female borg?"

"It should. Borgs are the same, internally. Externally, they're different." Mathias said.

Ada Mae smiled. "Let's get started."

1

Between planning and working on Motherboard, eight months had come and gone. Ada Mae had stayed and helped for a while, but she had other duties to attend to, so she left Control Central for her own Cybersite. Mathias continued the task alone. Thankfully, he had Siren's old records to go by.

On the ninth month, the project was nearly completed. Mathias had her internal systems functioning properly and most of the pieces fitted together; making adjustments here and there as needed. All that was left now was to enter the appropriate data.

"Motherboard?" Mathias said, switching and monitor located on his workbench to on. He had the monitor in his workroom for the very purpose of keeping in touch with his ward.

"Yes, Dr. Marbles?" Motherboard asked, sweetly.

"I require your assistance. My daughter is almost finished. There are two more tasks to be fulfilled. If you would be so kind as to watch the knowledge copy-transfer from my mind to hers?"

"Of course, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said. Copy-transfer was a delicate procedure. Even more delicate than creating life.

Mathias open a desk drawer and withdrew two USB cables. He flinched as he jabbed the end of one cord into the back of his skull and plugged it into to monitor. Then, he turned his daughter's head off to the side and jabbed the other cord into the back of her skull and put it into the monitor.

"Begin copy-transfer." Mathias said. Immediately, his eyelids drooped and he slumped forward against his workbench.

Motherboard calmly watched as a taskbar appeared on the lower portion of her screen.

Copy-transfer: 5 folder(s), 458 sub-folder(s) from 0424121 to 0424131

She waited until the transfer was complete before awakening Mathias.

"The copy-transfer reply on without a hitch." she told him.

"Thank you, Motherboard." Mathias said, removing the USB cables from both his and his daughter's skulls.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked.

"Negative, Motherboard. I will call you when I have need of your services." he said.

Motherboard nodded, appreciatively, before logging off.

Mathias picked up a four-compartment, battery pack, slipped it into its slot, and screwed it into place. Then, after closing the lid and pulling down the T-shirt he had dressed her in, he located her power switch and flipped it on.

Her eyes snapped go to next application one undo that opened and she focused on Mathias' apprehensive face. The expression confused her for a moment. Then, she smiled and reached out to him; fingers curling and uncurling in a "hold me" gesture.

"Dada!"

Mathias smiled with relief and picked her up. Her toddler-sized body fitting neatly in his arms.

"My name is Dr. Mathias Marbles. But you can call me Dada or Dad or whatever you like."

He hugged her, and set her back on the bench while he sat on the stool and rubbed his chin in thought. "Now, what shall I call you?"

Mathias tried a few variations, voicing them outloud. "Then, he smiled and said I'll call you Maxanne Marbles. Max for short. What do you think of that, Max?"

Max smiled. "I like it, Daddy." she said.

"Good." Mathias said, smiling.

He picked her up again and carried her out of the room.