*****A Cursed Existence*****
Entry 8: Shaping Up and Going Out
AN: Well, you know the drill. Review time.
ThePilotArchangel: Huehuehuehue, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
jmeson75: Thanks! Some authors may not think much of it, but reviews like yours are always a nice thing to get; so I can honestly say I'm grateful for it.
Scurra71900: No, thank you for reading and reviewing! Don't know where I'd be in terms of writing without the awesome feedback from reviewers like yourself and others.
Blaze1992: [Covered in a PM]
FusedBump: Yes! Thank you! Your review was the epitome of constructive criticism, and I love it! You brought up some excellent points (though I do have a reason for the poor emotional control that will be revealed in the future) and I'll see about working on them, or at least minimizing them, as in hindsight I can see what you mean. And while yes, the twist was basically spelled out for the reader, purposefully even, keep in mind the SI is the definition of "fish out of water" here; and concluding that "hey, I'm a sociopathic mass murderer now" would be rather far down on the list of what they think are reasonable possibilities, if only to maintain their own sanity after so many foundation shaking life changes in quick succession. So yes, from an outside perspective, that conclusion was obvious, but s/he had a lot going through his/her mind for quite some time and needed a bit just to settle in and feel normal again. Hence the seemingly poor decision making skills and passivity up to now: they were trying to find their mental balance again, so to speak. Fortunately for all parties involved, as time goes on and s/he fully comes to grips with everything, those issues should resolve themselves.
Now then, sorry about the wait; been having technical difficulties lately, as well as getting distracted by… three? Four? Or maybe five… well anyway, I got distracted reading numerous new fics I've just come across; and couldn't properly focus on writing until I'd read through them… Keep in mind, all but one was (and is, seeing as I'm still reading it) well over 300k words, with two in the 600k area (or higher, as I'm still reading and it's on a site that doesn't mention how many words the completed story has.) So yeah.
Regardless, I am working on writing again, because all that reading gave me soooooo many ideas to play with, and I figured I should start, well, playing with them. Hence this chapter and any others I make in the near future. Anyway, do enjoy.
December 5th, 2182, 9:05 am EST. (Four days later)
"-though Armali Council still managed to pull ahead in the stock exchange, in spite of experts' projections to the contrary. According to inside sources, this change is due to an Armali Council board member making a series of unexpected mining investments-"
Oh gee, I wonder who that could be? I thought to myself, receiving and giving a mental snicker at the hypothetical question. Thank you, Back to the Future, for the idea; your premise has been shamelessly stolen, implemented, and taken advantage of. And thank you Mass Effect 1 and 2 for showing me all those locations to mine. Must be quite the surprise that there was all that mineral wealth just sitting there in the Terminus and Traverse, waiting to be discovered… 'Oh wow, look at all these mineralogical treasure troves! What a coincidence that a previously unheard of mining and exploration company, recently bought out by a reclusive asari billionaire, discovered them out of nowhere with no prior hinting at their existence!'
Smiling to myself, I shook my head at the thought.
I slowed down my jog on the treadmill to a brisk walk, and muted the wall spanning screen showing the late morning news, preferring, at the moment, to instead rely on closed-captioning (which had improved so very much since my day and age.) The treadmill itself was, unsurprisingly, rather different than what I'd initially expected: instead of having a set speed dial, it determined how fast it went by how fast I went. It took some trial and error, but I eventually figured out and resolved the hiccups; really, it was just as simple as walking, and thanks to a highly advanced engine powering it, and motion sensors built into the frame, when I stopped suddenly or sped up, it did too.
I was currently down in the mansion's gym, wearing sweat shorts (or whatever asari called them, seeing as they didn't sweat) and a sports bra, trying to catch up on my neglected exercise routine in preparation for Noveria. It wasn't paranoia, really, so much as harmless caution; I needed the exercise, and it also allowed me to catch up on galactic affairs as a whole rather than simply local ones. If anything, I was surprised to find the galactic news source, Citadel News Network, covered mostly… pointless things, really. This ambassador's bondmate/wife (depending on the species in question, naturally) just had a child; this planetary governor intends to throw a diplomatic party; this company is creating a new branch on that colony; and other random minor events across Council space.
It all reminded me, funnily enough, of the old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nearly two centuries in the future; an alternate universe entirely; a dozen different alien species; and yet, somehow, the entirely alien news channel still broadcasted pointless fluff pieces about supposedly important people and events, all of whom would be forgotten in the long run as time went on.
I'll admit that when I reached the conclusion I had a giggling fit at the sheer ridiculousness of it. Which was strange in and of itself, granted, but I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before then… or since, now that I mention it… many of my dreams weren't exactly peaceful as of late, not least of which because of the simple fact I now knew every single person and memory I experienced, lived through, inhabited, had been and are dead, in some cases for centuries. And the funniest thing was that I couldn't even pinpoint why the thought of having so many different… impressions inhabiting my head during my sleeping hours made me so unnerved. The other Miri, for all the help she'd given in relation to figuring out how to work my biotics, couldn't help me there; assumedly because for her – and undoubtedly all asari to an extent – having someone else's memories just rattling around in your head, even those of the deceased, is perfectly normal.
Still… it was always disorienting at first to wake up and wonder 'Where did my hair go – What happened to my fringe – Why do I have five fingers instead of three like I should – Why won't my upper eyes open – Where am I – Who am I-'
I slowed to a halt and closed my eyes, willing away the suddenly available memories of a dozen different lives and people that weren't me. The ability to bring up past memories like a slightly blurred recording, with emotions attached to it no less, was something the original shared with me on the first day after I became aware of her presence in my head – she was subtle, a vague whispering giving me the right answer to certain questions, revealing her own memories like first-hand step-by-step instruction manuals, and it was only because I was actively looking for her presence at the moment that I noticed her suggestion for me to take a break.
It still struck me as… an odd relationship, to say the least. On the one hand, I now knew how to locate and experience my old memories as if I was watching a favorite yet nearly forgotten movie for a second time. On the other hand, this meant experiencing those memories, and not all… not all of them were pleasant, doubly so if I let my mind wander –
The casket opened one final time; her still, unmoving expression and closed eyes; her pale, ghostly skin; a second, smaller casket next to it that was closed, the damage to my little brother's body leaving it unsettling to look at; a crowd of people, many strangers and many friends or family, all gathered around and looking sad, sending pitying glances at my father, older brother and me; the warm summer air that seemed to have a slight chill as it was nearing autumn –
I shook my head and groaned, opening my eyes to force the imagery away and back where it belonged, buried under the 15 years of my life that began after the funeral, decidedly ignoring the sudden ache in my chest. "If that's all it takes to remember… no wonder that angry map dealer on Illium broke out in tears so easily when Shepard brought up her daughters…" I muttered, reminding myself to focus.
I spent a solid ten minutes just standing there and watching the news to distract myself, having unmuted it, only moving when it went into commercial break.
"Right then… time for the next exercise," I told myself, moving over to the flat-bottomed weight balls. They had a fancy asari name, granted, but I neither remembered nor cared enough to make myself remember what it was. Their use, however, was deceptively simple: they were specially designed for biotics, and said biotic would use their, you guessed it, biotics to lift each weight and hold it in the air, moving it around if possible. The weight would then steadily increase its mass via an internal mass effect engine, thus making the weight harder to lift as time went one. There was a max limit for each size, naturally: the smallest weight, roughly the size of a soccerball, could become as heavy as a fully grown man – I assumed human, but it quite literally could've been half a dozen other species considering the adult males for each of them had roughly the same mass – and the largest weight, around four feet wide and three tall, more oval shaped than round, could increase its mass to that of a car!
I had quickly learned that even with my relative lack of experience using biotics, I only had trouble holding up the largest one, and even then I'm sure it was because I was doing something wrong with my technique. Ardat Yakshi are, and let me be blunt, very overpowered in the biotics department it seemed. Which actually made sense considering Morinth was at least 300 years younger than Samara, but still managed to match the near-matriarch in biotic strength.
Starting off with one of the mid-sized weights to improve my control, I was in the process of lifting it and moving it around, all while it slowly got heavier and heavier, when Aena came down the stairs happily, as evidenced by the bright blue shining from her head, while carrying a large package under her right arm. Noticing her, I set the weight down, careful to give it time for its mass effect engine to lower itself to normal levels. It wouldn't do to leave a crack in my floor because I was careless.
"Ah, Aena. I take it you have good news?" I asked, taking a few breaths of deliciously cool air and resting my head against the similarly cool metal wall placed between the gym and the bathing area. Asari may not sweat, but their scalp-crests (and yes, that's the medical term for it) do get hot when using biotics or doing physically strenuous activities for an extended period. And even if I'd only been working out for around thirty minutes now, the cold metal still felt positively lovely as it worked its magic.
"Indeed Mistress. My hardware upgrades have finally arrived!" she said excitedly.
Being cheered up simply by her own, albeit programmed, cheerfulness resulted in me smiling brightly at her. "That's good! Have you installed it yet?"
I don't know why, but the only expression she gave me at that was something akin to sheepishness, her glow shifting to purple-blue. "I apologize, Mistress, but I am unable to self-upgrade my hardware. My platform is designed such that should my hardware be tampered with directly, I immediately cease all functions and hard lock my internal systems in my data core. This is intended to keep any illicit attempts to steal information from my memory banks from being successful."
Blinking, I thought over the implications for a moment, helped along by a short memory provided by the original Miri. "Ah, I see. So the reason you came down here was for my help installing it, yes?"
This naturally made Aena glow entirely blue again, and she smiled and nodded in the affirmative. "Indeed Mistress. Are you able to do so at this moment?"
Looking back to my biotic weights, I just shrug. I can always get back to it later.
"Yeah, sure thing; just set yourself up whenever you're ready."
Aena nodded and set the package down, going upstairs and coming back a moment later with a small, foldable table under one arm, and a tool kit held in the other. I raised a brow at that, but I didn't say anything, instead turning off the TV so I wasn't distracted. I turned around just in time to watch her almost delicately place the large package on the now unfolded table alongside the tool kit, followed by resting her upper body on said table right next to the package, her eyes and crest glow dying out a moment later as she went still.
I was surprised for a second at the action, yet only a second, and I approached her now motionless and lightless body. It looked… disturbingly close to a cadaver without any signs of life, but I shoved the thought aside as quickly as it arose.
Right, so… where do I even start? I mean I've gone over her blueprints a couple times, and I've examined her current internal layout from a few scans, but I'm no technician…
An invasive memory from a salarian who was, in fact, a technician, floated to my mental surface, alongside a series of memories of my hands – or rather, Miri's hands working their way into Aena's internal components a dozen times over; from what button to press and when; what part was responsible for which process; how to remove said part should the need arise; etcetera. While admittedly they were incredibly helpful in the current situation, I couldn't help but frown at not learning how to do it on my own. Regardless, I now had the information I needed to get down to work, and after reviewing the relevant memories once more and trying to catch as many of the finer details as I could, I did just that.
December 5th, 2182, 10:32 am EST. (One hour, 27 minutes later)
"And… just about… come on, reach dammit! It went in like this when I started!" I scowled at the wire in question, working the tool I held and moving the wire around, trying to attach it to the panel's base; only to instead wind up tracing the wire to its origin on a suggestion from the other me to try and find the problem… which I did. "Oh of course the damn thing got tangled in that bundle there. Certainly explains it. *sigh* Alright then, so all I need to do is…"
After unwinding the wire from the others, and making sure I didn't repeat such a mistake, I guided it to the panel once more, finding to my satisfaction it reached and even had length to spare. "There! Done! Finally… And now, for the moment of truth…"
I reattached the panel, it being Aena's back plate; and in spite of expecting it, I was still surprised by how positively light it felt considering its size.
According to the blueprints, Aena's initial plating was both severely limited in areas it covered to save on weight, and made from an old tungsten-aluminum alloy to have a good balance between weight, cost and protection. Aena's current armor plating, however, covered her entire body, it glistening in a grey-yellow sheen, and it was only just now I realized – or rather, remembered – that it was a variant on a fairly famous ship-grade plating discovered and mastered by asari. Silaris plating. Almost obnoxiously expensive, incredibly rare, and ludicrously tough. The downside, of course, was the price, and the fact that it was simply incapable of flexing, needing to be forged in solid plates to remain effective; the diamond-based alloy hard enough that it was known to absorb shots in space combat so effectively that the areas connecting it to the vessel's skeleton snapped. That shots of such power would normally have shattered the vessel if it had standard armor only served to further increase the fame it held, even if the repair costs were high enough at times to buy a second ship entirely; but the crew and officers aboard Silaris equipped vessels, however, had absolutely no complaints about such an expensive detail. And why would they? Better to be in debt to a shipyard for a few years than dead.
Gathering my thoughts, and making sure all the hardware I'd pulled out of Aena and replaced was tucked neatly in a storage bin I'd gotten from upstairs – it couldn't hurt to have it around in case Aena needed repairs, or the new parts were faulty in some way – I tapped the appropriate series of commands into the omni-tool on my left arm to start her reboot sequence, and stood back to watch. The first thing I noticed was a flicker of light in her eyes, followed by the fingers in both her hands flexing repeatedly, and then she slowly pushed herself up off the table and blinked, turning her head and taking in her surroundings.
When her gaze landed on me, she smiled large enough that it almost reached the edges of the flexible material that comprised her face, her crest starting to glow once more, and it was a blue bright enough to be mistaken for white.
"I take it that it all works as advertised?" I asked her with an amused smirk.
Her eyes shifted rapidly as if she was scanning over something only she could see, and a moment later they focused back on me in a way that somehow seemed more… lively than before. "Yes. Yes it does, Mistress. As always, thank you for assisting me in the upgrade process."
I waved her off, still smiling to myself all the while, and turned and started walking in the direction of the near pool-sized bathing area that made up the other half of the basement. "Great! Be sure to let me know if anything seems off, or if you start to have issues with the new upgrades. Well, I can't think of anything else to say, so keep up the good work!"
I couldn't tell her expression considering the angle I had on her at the moment, but I had a feeling that 'happy' would be a mild description of it. "You too, Mistress."
December 7th, 2182, 11:04 am EST. (Two days later)
An alert from my omni-tool – the normal one, not the Agatha gifted one – pulled me out of my reading on how Noveria was founded and colonized entirely by corporate interests, once both the Alliance and Council determined it unsuitable for proper habitation thanks to the bitter cold and lack of material wealth. It was actually quite fascinating learning how it went from an unimpressive ice ball with the odd prefab around the equator, to the center of corporate experiments, scandals, and conspiracy theories that drew attention galaxy-wide in less than 30 years.
Making sure my spot was saved for later – I'd need something to read on the trip there, after all – I went to look at the message I'd just gotten. Well, well, that was fast. Guess paying for premium shipping does make a difference..
I got up off the couch I was laying on and made my way to the front door, catching sight of Aena heading for it; doubtless having noticed the person standing there from one of the mansion's security cameras. "It's ok, I've got it; I was expecting them," I tell her, waving her back to her duties, causing her glow to shift to a confused pale green. In spite of that, she nonetheless nodded and went back to whatever it was she was doing beforehand, and I walked up to the front door and opened it after looking the person over via one of those same cameras Aena was hooked into.
Seeing a young looking asari in a uniform belonging to the shipping company I'd used, I nodded to myself and focused on her face. "Yes?" I asked her.
"Hi, I'm Aleice with Metaré Shipping; are you Mirilley V'Seila?" she asked in turn, smiling politely like deliverymen (or women, as it were) have for hundreds of years, be they asari, human, or even turian.
"I am," I answered, neither smiling nor frowning.
"Ah, good. I have a package here for you; if you could sign for it, please?" she asked, holding out an honest-to-God clipboard with a slip of paper on it, a pen held out with her other hand.
Nodding, I did just that, and she looked over it before turning to face me again with a smile. "That should be everything. I'll be right back with your package, Matron V'Seila."
I blinked at the unexpected title; but, I thought, I suppose I am technically her elder. Guess using terms like that denote respect, or at least an attempt to seem respectful, in the same vein as humans calling someone older than them sir or ma'am; which actually makes sense considering how often matriarchs are called 'Matriarch so-and-so' instead of just simply their name…
My thoughts were cut short when the delivery girl came back with a 3x3 foot box on a floating pallet, and she picked up the box without any trouble and held it out for me to take, which I did. "There," she said, "package delivered. Have a good day, Matron."
"You too," I said idly, turning around and heading in with my package, hearing her do the same as she walked back to her vehicle.
Once the door closed, I put the package on the floor and got to work opening it, a simple matter when it had nothing more than a few well placed flaps as its "lid." Less than a minute later and the box was open, revealing a globe-shaped, almost skeletal metal frame surrounded by a sort of layered foam that was apparently the future's version of bubble wrap.
I picked up the skeletal ball and gave it a once-over, making sure it didn't appear broken, noting the camera lens on what I now dubbed as its front. After doing that, I hummed appreciatively at finding nothing broken, and started looking for a more specific part. "Alright, the online instruction manual said the activation button should be right about… there!"
I pressed the button and watched as the ball started turning on, lights flickering on several areas of it, before it shot up out of my hand and floated midair for another five seconds. Once those five seconds passed, it covered itself in a white colored hologram and turned to stare at me with its "eye," now looking like a perfect match for the Shadow Broker's VI, Glyph.
"Greetings! I am a Master-Class Assistant VI, model number 9-0-8-0-1-7-4, factory line Imperator. You have just activated my New Owner programming. Are you my owner?" it shot out in a burst no doubt only thought normal among salarians, making me sigh. Funnily enough, it even sounded like Glyph.
Well, it'll have to wait until I get back from Noveria. Don't have the time to fiddle with its settings at the moment. Note to self: If you're going to buy a piece of fancy technology, do it loooong before you need to leave on a business trip.
Focusing back on the VI drone, I nodded. "I am. You are now the property of me, Mirilley V'Seila," I told it, recalling the online owner's manual saying that was the right way to do so.
It floated there for a second before it bobbed minutely, as if nodding, which looked both ridiculous and slightly amusing considering it lacked a neck… never mind a proper body. "Confirmed!" it almost chirped. "You, Mirilley V'Seila, are now my owner! Do you wish to give me a new identification?"
I think it means name… hmm… now that it mentions it…
I spent a moment in thought before shaking my head in the negative. "Not at this time, no."
"Understood. This model will respond to 'VI Assistant' as per factory default settings until determined otherwise. Do you wish to be called by something besides your name, owner?"
I hummed in thought before smiling to myself, finding no point in reinventing the wheel. "Yes, from now on call me either Mistress, or Mistress V'Seila."
It floated there for a moment, and if the way the hologram covering its wireframe body moved was anything to go by, it was currently processing. "Understood Mistress," it eventually said, bobbing down and up again in a "nod."
"Good," was all I replied with, turning in the direction I'd last seen my actual VI assistant walk down. "Aena, if you could come here please?" I called out.
"Yes Mistress!" she called back from inside one of the storage closets, coming out a moment later, smiling and glowing her usual blue. However, the strangest thing happened when she caught sight of the VI drone: she paused midstride and froze, staring straight at the drone, which was currently "staring" back, her glow dimming to almost nothing and face becoming completely neutral.
"Something wrong?" I asked, noticing her rather obvious reaction. She blinked at that, and focused on me once more, glow and smile returning, seemingly disregarding the drone entirely.
"No Mistress. I was simply unaware of a new VI inside the mansion," she told me in a kind tone. "Do you want me to deactivate the intruder?" she asked serenely, her right thigh holster popping out with a *click!* and revealing the Carnifex hidden there, all without her blue glow or smiling expression changing a bit.
I blinked at that, mentally tripping over the question, but quickly recovered. "What? No! The reason you didn't detect it before now is because I just turned it on; I ordered a new VI two days ago so that when we're both out of the house for an extended period of time, like when we leave on our trip to Noveria later today, the estate will still be taken care of," I hastily explained, raising a brow at Aena's behavior.
"Ah," was all she said for a few seconds, the thigh holster slowly sliding back into her leg, almost reluctantly so. "I see. My apologies, Mistress."
I huffed at that, shaking my head. "I know you downloaded additional security and bodyguard programs as part of the upgrade process, but really, you can't just assume every unexpected visitor or VI you come across inside the mansion is a home invader."
"Understood Mistress; it won't happen again."
"Good," I said, eyeing Aena for a moment longer. Her expression didn't shift, but her blue glow had a pinkish hue to it, an emotional state I didn't recognize immediately. A quick review of the memory I had of learning all her colors told me though: embarrassment. Why someone decided to pack so many simulated emotional states into a VI, I didn't know, and even the original Miri didn't really question it; Aena's designer was apparently rather eccentric, but highly skilled, even considered a prodigy in the field of VI creation at the time, so she just took the personality quirks in stride after getting the finished product.
"Now then: Aena, seeing as this thing will be your assistant when neither of us are here, I want you to spend the rest of the day, until it's time for us to leave, making sure it has every needed operational program for the upkeep of both the mansion and surrounding property." I paused then as a thought hit me regarding the request. "Is that enough time for you to do so?"
Aena looked from me, to the drone, me, the drone, and then me again, before she answered just as serenely as before… when she came within seconds of shooting my brand-new VI fresh out of the box. "I believe so, Mistress."
I eyed her warily for another moment, but nodded, knowing she wouldn't try to break it or anything like that the second my back was turned. "Alright then, I'll leave you to it." I then turned to the VI drone, and its "eye" focused on me as a result. "VI Assistant, this is Aena. She will give you several operational programs and guidelines to follow while the two of us aren't here. Do you understand?"
Its hologram again moved around as if processing my orders, and a second later it "nodded" like the previous two times. "Yes Mistress."
"Good," I said, turning to head upstairs, leaving the pair of VIs behind me.
"Hello Aena!" the drone cheerfully said while I was still within hearing range. "My current designation is VI Assistant. Pleased to meet you!"
"That's nice. Please follow me," Aena responded, and I stopped walking and almost turned around at how passive-aggressive it sounded. I wasn't even aware a VI could be passive-aggressive.
"Of course! I have been ordered to place myself in your care!" the drone informed her.
"I know," was the last thing I heard from Aena before they went out of sight, and damn if it didn't sound like she was trying to be patient with the thing.
Maybe I'm just imagining it, I thought in the silence that followed. I mean outside of Ceova and her mother, Aena is the only company I've had since I arrived here… I really need to get out more and talk to actual people…
Shaking my head, I went back to my current objective and made my way to my bedroom, making sure I had everything I'd need packed and ready for my potentially week-long trip away from home.
Right then, next time: Noveria! Except… it's still several months away from the game's plotline, meaning it's a slightly different Noveria than what Shepard finds. Emphasis on slightly. So what will Miri be doing while she's there, I wonder? Well, I do believe that remains to be seen…
Anyway, that's this chapter done with! Huh. A little shorter than I'm used to. No matter; it ended on a good spot, I think. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!