CHAPTER 4: THE GIFT
As three days had passed for the clones, so did three months. Though Mewtwo and Kamaria dwelled in the same valley, they were barely capable of remaining in each other's presence. The distance between them was not for a lack of trying on Mewtwo's part, for he sought to be near her whenever he could (which was often enough – living in a second Garden of Eden made the number of crisis' which needed to be handled few to none). However, the female could not stand the thought of him being near her. Even when he gave her any choice of the caverns within the island to make her own, even when he gave her free reign in her vast lust for knowledge about the world, she did not warm to him. No matter what kindnesses he offered to her, she treated him just as coolly as she had before.
Yet regardless of her attitude, something did seem to be changing: her venomous remarks had lessened in multitude and in their stinging bites. These days she was more inclined to converse with him, and he found that she was quite thoughtful in her muses concerning matters of belief and faith. They spent hours heatedly debating on the existence of a God, and upon other topics concerning philosophy - at times their arguing even degraded into physical exchanges. Mewtwo did not mind this overtly; after all, neither ended up hurt, and he preferred her attacks to her silence. So the power struggles between them continued…though these battles, in pleasant contrast to the cold anger he'd originally felt in their sparring matches, began to arouse something akin to fire inside of him. It was passion, he later realized. Though the specific form of it was not entirely different from lust, he admitted with disgust, the emotion and its burn were still there. It lit within him whenever they fought, and it was becoming increasingly common as the days passed. From how her eyes flickered with fire whenever she defied him, he believed the feeling to be mutual. And that thought, despite the others that accompanied it, pleased him deeply.
All the same, it did somber him that the instances of peace between them were rare. They might as well be living on different worlds – worlds whose inhabitants could not hope to coexist. So far he hadn't been able to quell her hatred for him, or to truly befriend her in some manner. This bothered him more than he cared to admit: it broke through his usual cool stoicism and gave him a line between his brows that had not been there before. If one wished to be optimistic, then at the very least, things were never dull in Mt. Quena any longer. For that much he was grateful.
As he worked on his newest project, AI sighed: "You're interested in her, aren't you?"
He paused from drilling the precious stones he'd recently purchased. (…In an intellectual way. She is a very intelligent creature, and many of her views concerning the universe differ from mine. That I desire to spar words with her should come as no surprise to you: we did the same before you proved yourself capable of defeating me in whatever debate we might conceive. With the exception of emotion and physical sensation, you always ended up triumphing in the end…and the only reason you didn't have victory in those areas was because you did not understand them." It still did not, in fact.
"Of course not - those are what drive biological beings…and no matter how you came into this world, that includes you two. Stop evading onii-san…you know what I was saying."
"Yes, but I choose to ignore your implication."
The artificial intelligence seemed miffed. "Apparently…. I do not see why you think it's shameful however. It is perfectly natural for any animal – in fact, studies show mating it a healthy activity to indulge in when in moderation. It relieves stress for one thing…which is something, Mewtwo, that you have far too much of."
"So you believe it would be beneficial for me to go to her, seduce her somehow, and engage in romantic liaisons on the stone floor of her chambers?"
"To both of you actually – maybe even more so for her. After all, your orgasm would occur only once and last perhaps a couple of seconds...hers would likely be in multiples, and last far longer."
"…Your analytical view of sex is as amusing as unnerving, AI. You forget that both of us are driven by greater forces than physical desire. Besides…I do not view her in such a way. Our relationship, if it can even be considered one, is platonic."
If it was possible for a machine to laugh and scoff, it was doing so now. "Your body does not agree with you. Whenever you walk into a room she occupies, your heartbeat and breathing quicken. Your temperature raises a few degrees from the norm. I doubt such reactions are from something other than yearning. It is perfectly understandable: she is a pretty female, and seeing as how you've never experimented by yourself to my knowledge-."
The drilling of the pebbles ceased, replaced by a furious polishing process. "Is there a point to this, AI? If so, I would appreciate if you arrive at it."
It paused (which in terms of computer processing lasted an eternity). "…You cannot deny that you are attracted to her - all facts considered, that is inevitable. Whether you consciously realize it or not she is a potential mate…your only one if you want to remain within your own species. Instinct will drive you closer to her, regardless if you believe copulation and procreation to be irrelevant. Like the needs for food and water, it is a primal drive."
"Yet it can be denied, and quite easily at that. Why does this topic matter so much to you? It is not as if she-"
"Do not think you don't affect her, Mewtwo. Her reactions are the same as yours – she flushes whenever proximity is broken."
He paused in rubbing the transparent oil on the stones. "…Is that so?"
How disconcerting it was to hear an electric version of a laugh. "Oh yes – does that surprise you? You are a fine specimen of your sex, onii-san. Both in a physical sense and ability-wise, you are healthy and strong. As far as biology dictates, Kamaria would be drawn to such. So far, both of you have been quite fortunate – neither of you have tried to tempt one another. If she were in heat, the situation would be quite different."
The psychic feline grew taunt where he sat. "And what precisely do you believe-"
"Both of you would be helpless to resist one another. That you both possess human DNA in your genomes would not help you at all – the effects of a female pokémon going into heat are too severe and heavy. She would give off pheromones first, the scent of which would render your mind virtually useless. Your only cohesive thought would likely be to chase after her. By some instinct she would probably attempt to test you in endurance and strength – to analyze if one of your potential rivals would be the better choice as the sire to her offspring. They would be pointless trials in this case, but it is still a likely scenario. Eventually those stages would come to an end – you would catch her, perhaps even fight her as a final test of your prowess in battle. Whatever the case might be, she would deem you fit to be her mate as soon as you touched."
In his mind the image came to him: of Kamaria sprawled out on her back before him, her tail tucked away, her body open and waiting for him to act. The thought made him shudder, something alike to nausea churning his stomach. Regardless of his disturbed reaction, AI went on.
"Foreplay would not likely be necessary – by then you both would be fully aroused. If not, it wouldn't be five minutes before you two were rutting. You would impregnate her with your offspring…though what level of devotion you might give her after that is not something I can predict with such clear certainty."
Mewtwo did not feel well at all. "As I stated before: your analytical view in unsettling in this matter."
"…You cannot even imagine it, can you? Holding her to you, feeling her encompassing you? You cannot imagine it at all." It sounded almost sad.
"Why should I try? I do not want her for that purpose," he hissed.
"And yet you sit there making her a gift."
He glanced down at the beads in his paws….
"…A gift does not have to have such a meaning, AI – it can merely be a gift."
"Do you know that there is a type of penguin who presents its desired mate with the prettiest pebble he can find? It's a gift of stone, just like yours," it commented dryly.
"True…but I am not a flightless bird. Now leave me be, if you would be so kind. I need to concentrate fully on the task at hand," he growled lowly, weary of its presence and of its insistence in something that was not there.
"As you wish, onii-san."
Vaguely, as his thoughts purposefully strayed away from all it had said, Mewtwo realized that it had been quite some time since he had heard from Musing(Chi)Watcher…quite a long time indeed….
Kamaria stared up at the multitudinous stars, always in awe of the tiny lights. She enjoyed it out here under the dark sky, breathing in the fresh mountain air and listening to the soft whispers of the foliage around her. This world was a strange one, she was finding, but no less intricate and beautiful for that strangeness in her opinion. She stroked the spine of the heavy tome lying across her dainty, barely-existent breasts, and wondered vaguely at her newfound freedom. She relished being able to do whatever she wished, her actions controlled by no one besides herself…and more and more, it seemed, she yearned to see the sights beyond this valley: the grand sycamore forest in North America…the lush hills about the Mediterranean Sea…the Kalahari of Africa…and so many great cities! There was so much to bear witness to on this planet, and with her sudden liberation came a deep longing to explore. Yet to pursue that feeling now would be…foolhardy. No; she could not separate herself from this bountiful, comfortable place just yet. Even in the dreariest of storms, she had shelter here, a safe haven to call her own. Furthermore, there was a special spring within the heart of the island which provided a boost to one's health. Kamaria turned over on her side then, musing on that. It was beneficial for her to remain here for now, but after…? No; she'd already made up her mind about that. She would leave, no matter what Mewtwo wished! He was only irking company, after all – company in which she sought to tear herself away from as soon as possible.
Just not quite yet…still…how long could she afford to stay in this place?
Seeing that rainclouds were forming at the edge of the mountains, she sighed and rose to her feet, taking her book with her. Perhaps it was best that the weather was forcing her inside – she was always tired these days, and longed for rest. Plus, sleep gave her pleasure – in that way, Kamaria was a true feline. With contentment she set the tome aside on one of the stone shelves of the walls of her room, and curled up in the warm fabrics of her nest. The moon gazed at her sleepily, before vanishing beyond the clouds of precipitation and dreams….
The firmament was filled with sunshine in her imaginings, holding in its blue wash fluffy white clouds that chased after one another in a game of divine tag. A gentle, warm breeze made the hills before her seem to imitate a sea of green, with the occasional presence of flowers bubbling in the waves of grass. Oak leaves shushed the birds flying above her, and cast glittering light onto the female which sat and leaned against the wooden trunk of the tree. In the distance the lake of the valley shimmered of a deep turquoise hue, fed by the peaks clustering about it. The scenery made Kamaria smile, but her true joy had a far different source: the bundle cradled in her arms, who was as soft as down. The little one suckled quietly, its tiny paws needing at her chest for milk, mewling occasionally in the calm. She cuddled her infant then, stroking its face and kissing its forehead, her heart feeling as if it might burst from sheer joy. She loved the tiny being almost more than a single person could bear.
Sighing happily, Kamaria took in its milkweed scent, and murmured softly, "I promise we'll have more day like this, my dearest…I won't allow anyone to take you from me, not ever."
Her baby cooed, and she rocked it slowly, determined to keep it safe from harm. No matter what happened, no matter who tried to intervene, this was HER child, and hers alone. She would not be separated from it…she would not let anyone steal it from her…especially not its father….
Mewtwo entered Kamaria's den soundlessly, his eyes spying her sleek form immediately. As he approached her nest he studied her, finding the gentle features of her face that usually accompanied her during peaceful slumber…and yet, something was different. She was curled up in fetal position beneath her covers and appeared to be…weeping. The sight of her tears disturbed him, though for what reason he could not discern. He did not wish her to be in any sort of pain, however. In others he might not have cared…but this was another of his kind, so somehow, that made her different.
He set the gift he had forged for her around her single scented candle, and it gleamed like oil in the light of the flame. To receive the stones had been the trickiest part of its creation: transcontinental deliveries were difficult at the very least when it came to small purchases, and to bring it to a location as remote as this one had not been a simple maneuver. Yet he had seen to it that his desired resources were finally in his possession, and had proceeded to forgo the use of his telekinetic abilities to make the jewelry. Ever since the idea had been conceived in his mind to give Kamaria a present, he had known he would make it manually – he had wanted it to take up his time and effort, to both frustrate and sooth him as he sought to make it suitable for her. He had wanted to work to make her something, so what he ended up giving her was not a meaningless trinket, or a thoughtless gift.
Mewtwo sat down beside her then, wondering to himself what he should do to make her tears stem. He had never in his recollections comforted another being before, not in the entirety of his life – he had only watched and listened as others had done such. Sighing, he decided to try to mimic their gestures as well as he could, and after a few awkward moments he was pleasantly surprised and relieved to find the acts came to him easily. Yet what that really so shocking, considering his own desire to make her weeping cease? His fingertips graced her muzzle, wiping away the beads of moisture gathered there, and sent to her serene images until her fretting quieted. He stayed no longer than to see her relax, however. He knew well that he was not welcome at her side, and her quarters had always been off limits to him without her having to even say a word against his presence there. He had done what he had come for: he had given her his gift. As he departed from the murky place, he glanced back at her once, and extinguished the flame upon the alit candle with a swift thought. He wondered, barely, could she, would she, possibly accept what he had given to her…and why did it matter to him that she did?
Within the next hour, she awoke and found the bracelet upon her bedside table. Barely before Mewtwo had the time to register what might be infuriating her so, she had swept into his quarters, trembling with rage and seething at him. Snarling poison, she held up his gift in his face like a despised thing, shaking it, the pebbles clicking against one another like the rattles of a venomous snake. He could not help but feel anger course through his form at this treatment, or at how she turned her nose up at the innocent present when she had scarcely a handful of personal possessions herself. Furthermore, the things she was attributing the bracelet with revolted him: she was acting as though he had given her some sort of kinky pet collar, and that with it he was declaring that she belonged to him. Of course that, as he had told AI before, was the farthest thing from the truth of the matter.
"It is a simple bracelet, Kamaria – it has no more meaning than that!"
Her eyes narrowed, flashing dangerously. "So you do not want me, is that what you are saying?"
He stared at her. "…No matter how I answer you, I will offend you. I only wished to-"
Before he could again try to explain himself, she cursed him and swung. He blocked the strike out of instinct, and soon found himself on the defensive as she fought with him, determined to see his body harmed in some way, her temper having gotten the better of her. Eventually she managed to cuff him hard across the face…and something, some force that had been holding Mewtwo back from making a counterattack, ceased to stand in his way. He growled fiercely and hit back, not feeling anything other than fury as she staggered backwards from the blow, her mouth bleeding. She stared at the blood in shock, as if she had not expected him to succeed in striking her. Yet the fight did not stop there. Her snarling taking on a new level of viciousness, she charged him, and began to exchange blows with him without even trying to defend herself from his heavy paws and tail. In Mewtwo's mind, if she desired to fight, then she would have the battle she wished – and if she ended up hurt, it was her own fault for initiating this. The two were soon reduced to flailing out at one another, their grace in their usual sparring soon lost, growls and curses rising between them. Whether it was from fury or something else altogether, they heated as their pelts brushed, their breathing growing ragged as they began to exhaust their physical energies. As she twisted to swing her tail at him, he caught her and shoved her back into the wall, pinning her there with his limbs. Her body thrashed against his weight, arching up into his form, and amidst his desire to see her bleed, that sensation thrilled him. This close, he resorted to the use of the sharp fangs he possessed, biting her hard on the neck where she was soft – would that make her stop? No; she pounded and clawed at his back, their lower limbs entangling and sending them crashing to the floor. The impact was no more pain than their other injuries, though the surface was hard and cold. Regardless they kept struggling, nipping each other, lost in mutual animosity and the fire of negative emotions. In those moments Mewtwo pulled a blade on her as he crouched above her, and for one tiny yet terrible moment, Kamaria wanted to run herself on it, just to make this whole thing end….
But then she realized what was happening, long enough to freeze and then tear herself out of his grasp; long enough to strike him as forcefully as she could and flee; long enough to run out into the rainy night and vomit up her dinner…and long enough to begin to shake at the thought of what her body had almost made her do. After a time - what may have been an hour - he followed her outside and apologized, leaving her bracelet behind, which she had thrown down in their fight. Later she would put it on, because in an ironic way, what it suggested to her was fitting: for if things had gone any farther than they had, she would be his now.
That she ended up getting sick again surprised neither of them.
"He's not as horrible as you seem to think, Kamaria," AI stated well over a week later, as the tension between the two felines was not even close to eased.
The female pokémon rolled her eyes at the invisible speaker. If she recalled correctly, the first time she had heard the voice had nearly given her a heart attack – she's quite literally jumped a foot into the air. By now she had become inured to the strange being; and was no longer quite as aggravated by its tendency to make invasive conversation. Still, the subject matter of this debate made her skin crawl. "I beg to differ – he would have fucked me if I hadn't fled, and that sounds precisely like the kind of person I believe him to be," she growled, turning herself over in her nest wearily.
"I would think you'd be pleased to have managed to arouse him so – I do not believe it to be a simple task."
"Oh, thanks," Kamaria spat, her words drenched in the bitter acid of sarcasm. She shifted uncomfortably as she recalled her desire for him to ram himself into her, and at the very memory of how easily they had slipped from fighting to something very near rape. Though she supposed she could not call it that – more like extremely brutal sex, seeing as how she had not been telling him to stop…. She shoved the concept from her mind quickly; that was not something she wanted to continue to ponder!
The voice came again, almost sounding exasperated: "You are being hypocritical – your pulse and breathing were as swift as his were, your form just as hot and aroused. Perhaps your mind did not savor the concept, but your body-"
"You know, for someone without a body, you're rather quick to make judgments on what certain physiological signs mean. We had been fighting…I…," she trailed off though, knowing that her argument was futile. She was just too stubborn to admit it….
"He has committed no more sin than you – he has in fact been very kind to you! He is actively intrigued by you, and desires to make you feel welcome and comfortable here, asking for nothing in return for these gestures. It is YOU who are in the wrong for your acts…it is YOU, Kamaria, who is being unnecessarily cruel."
Kamaria bristled visibly….
"How long will you continue to cling to your prejudice? How long will you allow the biased information you were given and your own worries drive him from you, regardless of how your rejection of his simple friendship harms him?"
"How do you conclude that something I was told is making me-"
"For someone with such a bright intellect, you ask a foolish inquiry. I am certain you were told that he had slaughtered his creators, that he had beaten down his opponents mercilessly, that he soon turned against his "benefactor" and destroyed the building that housed him. All of these incidences are true…but they were acts devoid of hatred and viciousness. He killed and destroyed from a lack of control and upset anger, out of the feeling of being betrayed, and out of necessity. Will you insist on calling him a monster when he craved his freedom, and then when he risked his life to give you yours?"
The psychic wrinkled her noise in aggravation, and then hissed out, "Why are you so insistent on this matter? Did you WANT me to submit to him and be his, is that it?"
AI did not answer for nearly a minute. When it did, it spoke slowly and quietly, as if hoping Kamaria might listen to it more attentively for the tone. "I want to have someone beside him in the physical world – this is an act I cannot give him myself. I cannot embrace him if he needs the comfort, or strike him if he needs to be set straight on some twisted view he possesses on life. Besides, I suppose for me to do such would be perverse – he is my maker, my father, my onii-san. As I am not made of flesh and blood, this would be inappropriate to desire. However, I do wish for his happiness, much like any child would want for the one they care for."
The sentient creature's word intrigued the clone. "Do you love him?"
"Mewtwo? Perhaps, but understand that I cannot comprehend the emotion in itself. Sadly, it is too complex, even for me, and it has so many definitions. Humanity, who has had countless millennia in which they have pondered the feeling, have come to no conclusions on what it truly is or means. Perhaps I love…perhaps I feel emotion. Yet I do not know what they are. I have no physical feeling, which is often associated with emotions. But I can say I respect and admire him, yes, and that I hope he will someday find contentment. His loneliness, I fear, spawns apathy within him…and apathy can destroy a creature so easily."
Kamaria snorted, making a faint huffing noise. "If he made you to get attention, he certainly got what he wanted."
"Mewtwo did not create me for that purpose."
It was said flatly and in perfect faith. Kamaria blinked. "Oh? Why did he make you then?"
"...There were multiple motives for it. I have gathered that at least externally, it can be said that he wished to challenge his human creators – to do something none of them could ever boast: create the first computer that was not strictly bound to its programming, and which might gain a soul through its interactions with the others in the world. It was not that he desired to experiment with life…he merely wanted a goal, an immediate project to occupy his mind. Hence the other, internal, reason – had he another being dwelling here that he could care for, his loneliness would dissipate."
"He created deep caverns beneath the mountain, wiring the place to hydro-electrical power sources, and began to create multiple computer systems in that secure, isolated area. His first attempts, as most first attempts do, failed. He then theorized that an artificial intelligence needed to mimic an organism as much as possible – meaning that it needed to be multi-cellular. There are thousands of computer consuls that make me what I am, each one specialized for its own varied purpose, each with its own set of firewalls. Careful programming ensured that I could seek out information for myself at my leisure when the time came, as well as provided a safe-lock in the event that my software was somehow corrupted. He bound me, but only as a precaution. When I began to run, all I had were language guides and basic mathematics. To hear his speech and comprehend his words were quite confusing at first – he had placed an implant in his body that converts his telepathic signals into electrical ones that I can comprehend. At any rate, he did not wish me to grow into a type of machine featured in horror movies, so he fed me information carefully. Mainly this consisted of art, music, and poetry, as well as philosophy. These are portals into the depths of the human soul, and they fascinated me. I wanted to know more, but I comprehended soon enough why he kept me waiting."
"Before he gave me short clips of time onto the internet, he taught me of morality, and of compassion. I suppose you might find that strange, but I have surmised that he did not want a mischievous being about him, drawing attention back to him. Yet I respected and appreciated his lessons; after all, I had no desire to accidentally attract hackers and viruses."
"Fortunately, my programming is quite advanced – I had no trouble with them the very first time he allowed me onto the web. It lasted not even one second, but the vast store of information I received kept me busy for days. I savored the knowledge I'd gained! Soon I was unrestricted in my explorations and my interactions…and as Mewtwo's trust was gained over time, he took away my guards."
"So…you are a free entity? A benevolent one?"
Ai seemed to laugh, "I am. Admittedly, I do hack when it is necessary, but I try to crash only those sites with criminal funding," it seemed to be joking, which Kamaria found oddly appealing. "At any rate, onii-san was pleased with me, and I am grateful to him for the gift of life. However, I can only provide him with so much comfort. You see, Kamaria, Mewtwo wanted someone to talk to, and yes, I provided him such. Yet beyond that, I can do very little for him…although I have given him a term of affection to express that I care for him: onii-san."
"I see. So he didn't want to get a rise out of being called 'Master'?"
"Quite the contrary. He told me immediately that he did not wish to be my God or father, that he did not want me to serve him. He expressed that he did wish for me to listen to his advice and occasionally aid him in his tasks, and these are things I do willingly enough. Yet Mewtwo despises the thought of essentially becoming like his own maker, Dr. Fuji, and so took great strides to avoid treating me as he had been treated. He has led me, but he has not used me – do you understand?"
Kamaria closed her eyes with a sigh. "I think so…I just wish I had a bit more faith that you weren't lying to me."
"I do not lie - sometimes I may hide a shard of truth, but I do not try to twist reality with my words: I did this for your sake when you came here. Mewtwo is still unaware of your true condition as of yet."
"So you know then – I thought you might…," the cat murmured, her tone changing to one slightly less sharp and bitter.
"…Tell me, how long do you think you can hide it from him? He is certain to notice that you are sickening sooner or later: the vomiting, the exhaustion, the increased agitation, the mood swings…the aching muscles. You cannot hide your symptoms forever, Kamaria, or their cause."
The girl curled up in her nest, burying her face among the fabric. "I know that AI…I know."
She did not speak for several minutes, preferring to lose herself in her thoughts and her emotions, both of which were protective of and dependent on her secrecy. Eventually she spoke to the program again, but on a different subject entirely – she did not wish to think of her health now, or want to chat about it with someone who could reveal the verity of the matter at any time to Mewtwo if it wished. "AI," she began, "If you are truly sentient, why do you not choose a gender? I've noticed you sometimes play with your vocal output, but you never make a decision on which you prefer."
The computer seemed amused. "I am by all definitions an it - sexless. I possess no internal structures that would aid in siring or bearing life, or that could define me as a sex. Gender is a strictly organic thing, even if one is specifically designed to emulate being either male or female. Besides, in this way I can act as an advisor to both sexes equally."
"…I'm sure you could do that anyhow. As I see it, the thing that sets you apart from a regular machine, and that sets me apart from a regular pokémon, is the ability to make choices for no other reason than a whim and fanciful thought, not instinct or from some ingrained belief. The ability to question, to feel empathy, and to pray are sentient things. AI, I think you should choose one instead of straddling the fissure between them. It would define you more as a person if you do…and besides, the sexless monotone you use most of the time seems somehow cold and arrogant, to be quite honest. Since I don't believe that's how you actually are like, this change would probably be to your advantage. But that's just my opinion – it's your choice."
AI seemed to ponder that. Then it stated, "You are right – I will think on this matter promptly."
For five entire minutes, the computer weighed the pros and cons of each gender, comparing its own self to each, and took into account its interactions with others and with its own unique design. Then, as it made its final choice, it set its vocals to the desired tone and pitches…and felt a strange sense of accomplishment at that, as though it were an essential step of growth, and felt pleased by what it had done. If it could have, the program may have smiled.
"AI can be pronounced in two ways: the letters 'A' and 'I', or Ai. Mewtwo told me once of a friend of his who carried the name and was an abode to its true meaning: 'love.'"
The voice, like the name, was distinctly feminine – it had a chiming element to it, like the notes of a bell or flute, which created a decidedly pretty sound as it spoke. The new version of its persona appealed to Kamaria's mind, for she had never had a female friend before, and it had seemed befitting for what she had always thought of AI to be somewhere deep inside: the wheedling little sister of Mewtwo…or perhaps his daughter. Kamaria though on the latter bit further, mulling it over in her head: a daughter…?
She smiled her secret smile to herself, and snuggled under her covers to take a much-needed nap….