EVE Fiction

Aphoxema woke to the experience of falling and landing on her arm. The unnatural sleep was difficult to overcome, but soon she could sit up and squeeze at her abused shoulder.

She mumbled as she struggled to seat herself on the mattress, eventually speaking clearly enough for her command for the lights to illuminate succeed. Wiping her eyes and blinking hastily eventually revealed a bowl of fruit covering a piece of paper.

Shoving the bowl aside, there was a cutely-drawn illustration of her being berated by Zukes... and at the bottom, an elaborately written message. "Today you start your vacation. Sansha will wait."

Aphoxema groaned and scanned the room, finding it unfamiliar but clearly reinforced and designed to keep its contents from escaping into vacuum. She stood and stumbled towards a hatch, grasping the lever. It barely moved, stopping against something barring it from the other side. She banged on the door and waited. She cupped her hands against the door called into them, “Hello?”.

She moved to the less substantial, already open door to find a bathroom. A set of clothing was already prepared beside the shower. She stepped back out, noticing a console and a kitchenette. She was imprisoned but, at least, well provided for.

She sat at the console and turned it on to see a diagnostic overview of her own Fleet issued Tempest. With a smile, the realization came to her that she was in the Captain’s Quarter. On this ship it was a place she never visited. On other ships she left it for crew to use when out-of-action, being a hold-out from before the ship was modified for hydrostatic capsule command. When she wasn’t in a pod, she preferred to stay in the Combat Information Center.

Sweeping the diagnostic program aside, she found another message left for her. “Don’t play on Galnet all day, IGS will rot your brain. There’s some books you ought to read in the desk. I’ll be back later. If you escape or call for help, I’ll kick your ass.”

Aphoxema shook her head and rubbed her eyes, letting free a complicated chuckle. She swept aside the message and started to log into Galnet, hesitating at the thought of checking on Nation activity; she knew if she were aware of an attack then it would only upset her that she wasn’t there. She knew there was nothing she could do now. She knew Zukes was trying to help her. Most importantly, she knew she had grown used to lamenting the loss of her greatest friend and hadn’t allowed her back into her life for fear of losing her again.

Letting go, she put the console back to sleep and pulled open the desk drawer. They were all books she hadn’t heard of. In fact, she had only read childrens’ stories when it had come to bound paper, or really any stories at all. She had never read a novel, only the gargantuan skillbooks in Pator Tech School.

Picking out a book titled The Great Empires: A Brief Account of CONCORD And The Sovereign Nations, Rev. 71”, Aphoxema leaned back and experimented with relaxation without the use of mind-altering drugs.

Aphoxema and Zukes flew through the massive corridors of the station in a relatively tiny rental cab.She’d gone through three bottles of champagne with Zukes, the pair having spent hours talking at the restaurant.

“I had a wonderful time... hey, are you sure you should be flying after all that champagne?” Zukes was suddenly alarmed, her own discretion diminished by her share of the drinking.

Aphoxema grinned tiredely, “I’m not really in control, it just lets me feel like I am. Here, I’ll show you.” She lurched the control grips to one side, aiming the cab at a nearby wall. The autopilot quickly took over and slowed the vessel until she righted her steering.

Zukes squealed, “Don’t do that again! My damned heart is bursting out!”

Aphoxema tackled a thought, “I have a better idea...”

Zukes relaxed and let out a laugh, looking over drowsily at her partner, “I love you...

Aphoxema, not really paying attention, guessed she was asking where they were going, “You’ll see...”

“I’ll see?” Zukes felt concerned again, “You’re not lost, are you? That was our ship back there.”

Aphoxema smirked at the implication that they shared that ship, despite never having discussed it. More touched than anything, if a little surprised.

“Where are we going?”

Aphoxema missed the question, “What?”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see...” Aphoxema flew along, looking for a hotel for them to stay at. This was their vacation, apparently, and she didn’t want to spend it inside a warship or an apartment. It didn’t take long for her to find a place that impressed her. “Let’s stay here for a few days.”

Aphoxema pulled the plush blanket from over her face and looked around the suite, seeing her and Zukes’s clothes thrown about and three empty bottles of champagne on the bedside table. She wasn’t really sure if they had discussed anything but she could remember their playful tangling under the covers.

She slugged out of bed quietly to find standing from the floor a challenge while hungover but able to escape without waking Zukes. Though she had long been in the habit of running in her underwear, she decided it would be more appropriate to put on a robe before ordering breakfast.

She gently closed the door to the bedroom behind her and softly called for the lights to turn on. She hazily looked over the luxurious suite; being the first time she bothered to check, she was certainly impressed and couldn’t help but to consider making these accommodations typical for her and her wife.

As she walked into the decadent parlor, the virtual hostess flickered into view to greet her in a sublime but a little exaggerated voice, “It is wonderful to meet you again, Aphoxema Jeehiro! Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, be less nice.”

“Your preference has been recorded and will be applied to future conversations. I will focus on speech that is commonly considered sincere more. I will focus on speech that is commonly considered flattering less. How may I serve you today?”

Aphoxema stared dumbly at the projection, “Go away.”

“Of course, have a good day.” The hostess bowed and disappeared, leaving Aphoxema in an silence she wasn’t prepared for.

“Hey, come back!”

The character reappeared and stared patiently at her user, “How may I serve you?”

“What’s your name?”

“My assigned name is Adelpha-501. The program with which I am managed is Nebula Interactive, a joint project of The Center for Advanced Studies and Pator Tech School funded by Consolidated Cooperation and Relations Command. I am presently for sale. I have had six-thousand, twenty-one previous encounters and no owners.

Aphoxema blinked, “For sale?”

“Nebula Interactive creates unique personalities that are centrally hosted by CONCORD servers and then leased to end users with compatible software and equipment. All interactions are saved and processed to improve our ability to serve you. Each instance of a personality has his or her own unique history that can be either assigned to a renter, like this establishment, or bought and sold by individuals such as yourself.”

Aphoxema crossed her arms and looked suspiciously toward the figure, still unsure of its level of consciousness or purpose, “So you collect information for CONCORD?”

“That is not entirely correct. We collect information for research, however we are funded by the Directive Enforcement Department under the condition that they are allowed access to any information collected.”

“So you’re a spy.”

“That is a consequence of our relationship.”

Aphoxema smiled wryly, “So, how much do you cost?”

Adelpha-501 said nothing for a moment, flickering but standing still, “There will be no cost for you, Captain. The equipment necessary will be provided at no charge to your technicians for installation.”

“No charge? Of course...”

“You have been directly involved in matters relevant to the Directive Enforcement Department and your inconsistent history is of interest to our researchers.”

“Inconsistent history? How much do you know about me? What makes you think I’d let you just collect evidence on me right to my face?”

Adelpha-501 smiled in a way that, for an artificial person, made Aphoxema a little afraid, “We know many things about many people. We know you’ve worked with many different criminal organizations. We know you’ve worked with many law-enforcement agencies. We know about your cloning incident, more than you do. You have been very useful to the DED in ways you wouldn’t believe and they have long had enough evidence to prevent you from ever stepping in a pod again, but that is not necessary as you’ve proven yourself to be reliable in accomplishing the things your benefactors wish of you.

“We have lead you here to make a decision, but we already know what your answer will be. In return I can offer you select answers of your history and I can disclose information helpful to your mission. The Nebula Interactive-certified encryption equipment is being delivered to your hanger now and I have already been transferred to your possession.”

Aphoxema shook her head, aghast, “I haven’t even said yes... mission? What mission?”

“The mission that was assigned to you in YC110.”

Aphoxema thought a moment, “I didn’t even exist then!”

“Your brain-image was in stasis at the time until an opportunity to begin your mission presented itself. Now that this analysis is complete I would like to thank you for your time. I am looking forward to working with you. Please enjoy your time with your wife, your continued bonding will be beneficial to your mission.”

Aphoxema stared in shock as Adelpha-501 disappeared, her legs losing strength. She let herself fall with some shred of grace before fainting.