NABC [328] 4.49 Within the Laboratory II
[328] 4.49 Within the Laboratory II
I pull a half-eaten hamburger out of my [Inventory] and take a bite. In all of the chaos of yesterday, I realize now that I didn’t eat all that much. And now that I’ve slept and burned off all that nervous energy, my appetite has come roaring back with a vengeance.“I’m sorry that I don’t have a lot of food here myself. Again, was planning to stop into town this weekend to get some food for everyone, but circumstances changed, as they seem to do all the time these days.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “I’d be more worried about Alicia; Chloe and I keep more than enough food and water in our [Inventory] to last for several days. Although the idea of storing an entire helicopter inside hadn’t ever occurred to us.”
“Well, you two can both fly already, so I can see why you wouldn’t think to store air transportation. However, I would advise you to start thinking about how you can make even better use of your [Inventory] going forward. Food and water and extra weapons, yes. But have you considered camping gear so you can sleep more comfortably in harsh terrain? Perhaps Sera can work on building an alarm system that will go off if monster presence is detected in the vicinity. Shielding as well, to protect you against surprise attacks. Very important if the two of you plan to stay in dungeons for more than a couple of days.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Chloe says.
“So, what were you going to show us about Madison?” I ask. I can’t help it. After knowing how important she was to the old Seraphina and with the memories I’ve since inherited, I can’t help but feel a little attached to her.
“Patience, Sera,” Hank says, chastising me as only a parent can. “Alicia will be here in a moment. This concerns all of us, and I did promise I would explain to her why I did everything I did.”
A moment later, as if on cue, Alicia emerges, looking surprisingly well-rested after everything. Perhaps the bed in their room was more comfortable than ours?
Alicia takes her seat beside Hank, while Chloe and I sit next to each other across the small conference table. My hand meets Chloe’s, and the two of us share a gentle squeeze that Alicia doesn’t notice and Hank almost certainly does, but has the decency not to acknowledge.
“So, answers?” Alicia says curtly. “I would advise that you not keep me waiting any longer; my patience is running thin enough as it is.”
“Of course.” Hank pulls out a small disc and sets it down in the middle of the table. He spins it, and, as though acted upon by an outside force, it begins accelerating until the various ridges and iridescent colors merge into a rainbow blur. A mechanical whirr fills the otherwise silent meeting room, followed by an array of lights which coalesce into the shape of a very familiar woman.
The hologram begins to play its prerecorded message.
“To whomever finds this message, my name is Dr. Madison Mazerie. Thirty years ago, my colleagues and I began work on a secret project designed to thwart an enemy that threatens everything that is and will ever be. That entity is the System.
“I do not know if this device will find its way to a reality already infected with the System, or one which remains blissfully untampered by this most insidious existence. Should the latter be the case, think of the System as a god, invisible, intangible, yet everpresent, its malicious fingers permeating all that exists with its dark ambitions. And rest assured from every projection we have compiled over the past millennium— the end goal of the System is the complete annihilation of all reality. Every reality that is, is under threat so long as the System exists.”
Alicia turns to Hank. “What the–”
“This is consistent with my memories of her as well,” I say.
Madison’s recording continues. “Unfortunately, we started too late. By the time we realized the gravity of the threat we faced, it was too late to mount any sort of defense. By the time you are watching this recording, I and everyone I will ever know will be erased, consumed within the infinite maw of the System as our universe is devoured, piece by piece, until nothing remains but the void.”
“How horrible,” Alicia says. Even Chloe is moved to horror at hearing it said so plainly, despite knowing most of this already.
Hank only nods in grim acknowledgement.
“In my time, the System cannot be stopped,” Madison says. “But, we have hope that in another time and place, the System can be thwarted. To this end, we have sent our final and ultimate weapon against the System, and the greatest accomplishment of my team, the biomechanical warrior Seraphina. Organic life cannot survive in the void between realities, but we have hope that Seraphina, as a biomechanical life form, can.
“However, with the stakes being absolute, I refuse to leave even that much to chance. To that end, I have encoded two sets of data within this pod. The first is the source code of Project Seraphina: ⸢The Anomaly⸥. It is potential made manifest, and was meant to be our weapon against the System. I bequeath it to whomever finds this, in the hopes that they will continue the fight and finish what we have started.
“But I fear that that alone may not be enough. To tip the odds further in your favor, I have also encoded my own personal data into a glyph as well. Having reached the maximum level of 255 and attaining the ultimate power achievable within the System, I believe that my data may assist in devising countermeasures against it, when the time comes.
“Finally, I will provide what information I can regarding the nature of the System and the world in which you either live or soon will. Even with this data, the challenges will be great, and I cannot guarantee success. Ultimately, that will be up to your efforts. But I beg you; please, heed my warning. Before it is too late.”
The hologram ends. Hank and I have solemn expressions upon our faces. Chloe looks wholly lost in thought, not even responding to my gentle mental prodding. And Alicia looks absolutely irate.
“And you expect me to believe this? This is absolutely outrageous. I know you’re working on secret government projects, and I know you make good money and provide for your family, but can you not show any more gullibility if you tried? You can’t expect me to believe all this. A hologram that supposedly heralds the arrival of the System and the end of the world? This sounds more like a hoax I’d see in a low-budget science-fiction film than anything to be taken seriously.”
“And yet, I have memories of Madison,” I say. “Vivid memories of waking up, as that other, original Seraphina. Of the two of us living together, training together, fighting together. I know it’s hard to believe, Mom, but the only explanation I can think of is the one that Hank is telling you, no matter how much it defies common sense.”
“But still, aliens and different realities? The System as an entity that attempts to eat entire universes? Doesn’t that stretch credulity well past its breaking point?”
“Dad?” Chloe asks. “The data for Madison. You gave that to me, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“Why?” Alicia asks. “What gave you the right?”
“It was necessary. The method of installing the data into a being required that they not be alive. In short, it would only work if installed directly into the being’s genetic code.”
“So you performed unethical and probably illegal genetic modifications on our children, and not once did you think about the consequences? Like, maybe the joke is on me for being the only one who isn’t okay with this, but–” Alicia slaps Hank, who does nothing to resist. “I really thought that when we got married, our vows meant something. That we were a partnership, a team, that we made decisions together. But I guess I was wrong. What else was I wrong about?” Alicia shakes her head. “Never mind; I don’t want to know.”
“I did what I did because I wanted our children to have the right to choose that future for themselves. I didn’t want to install the glyphs into anyone else’s children, both because that would have been even more wrong, and because I trusted that we could raise our children with the right values and teach them the weight of responsibility they would one day bear.”
“I’m… I’m going to go now,” Alicia says. “We’re going to have a long conversation about this later, but I’m not in the right state of mind and I don’t want to say anything in anger that I might regret later.”
Before any of us can stop her, she walks out, a mixture of sorrow and grief on her face. Hank doesn’t try, instead turning to me.
“Okay,” I say. “I acknowledge what you’ve said to this point and why you did what you did, but there’s still one part that I don’t understand. If I am your daughter, then why was I raised by Lily and Theo Mortensen? Why did you have your daughter raised in poverty and a lack of safety, in an environment where she was exposed to violence and not given any opportunity to–”
“There are several parts to this question. First, while Chloe is our daughter genetically, you, technically, are a clone of the original Seraphina. None of the methods Madison had devised and I had tried were sufficient to get ⸢The Anomaly⸥ to take root in another organism. I suspect that is because ⸢The Anomaly⸥, like The System, is self-aware. It is Seraphina, in every way, and would not bond to anyone else.”
“Which is why all the robots and the cyborg with Renault look like me.”
“Exactly. I suspect another part of it is to besmirch your name and reputation to further divide the people and prevent them from coalescing around you as a potential heroine and foment more chaos which they can exploit.”
“Fuck.” The utterance escapes me before I realize it.
“To answer the rest of your question, the three of us had to be secretive about our research. Any aberrations or departures from the presumption of normalcy would have invited the sort of chaos and scrutiny we desperately needed to avoid. Including another child of mine suddenly appearing. So, rather than raising you ourselves, I offered you to my friend from undergrad, Theo.
“Lily was, unfortunately, sterile, due to a genetic condition, but both of them wanted a child. So, again, I pulled some strings, got some identity documents forged, and gave you to the two of them.”
“I guess that’s why Theo knew that you knew more about who and what I was, to quote his dying words.”
Hank nods. “It worked out well for both of us. They raised you as their own, while I could protect you with what resources could be spared. I did not have too many contacts, but with what connections I did have, I was able to see to it that you would be protected and receive the same opportunities for education that Chloe received.”
“The scholarship.”
“Indeed. I… greased some palms. And, though it probably doesn’t mean much coming from me, especially so late, I am truly sorry about your parents and what happened to them.”
I lower my eyes. “Thank you. To change the subject a bit, while we’re on the subject of my parents. Theo gained the power of a [Glyphcaster], just the same as I have. Is that because you gave him that information?”
“Not directly. I do not know everything about the System; even Dr. Mazerie didn’t, so it would be the peak of hubris to assume my knowledge eclipses hers. However, the Classes that the System offers are related to the individual and the actions and desires they have. I believe his proximity to you, raising you as his daughter, may have influenced the options he was given.”
“Like how I got my original [Planetouched Mechanist] class. Why Chloe has classes as a Swordmaster and a Saintess— the same classes Madison took in her life.”
“Perhaps, but that is denying Chloe too much agency.”
Chloe nods. “Even if I am… partially Madison, it was still my choice to take those classes. And I would have done it again, even knowing what I do now.”
“So, what happens now?” I ask. “As it stands right now, I can’t hope to stand against Renault and his cybernetic Seraphina.”
“There is a dungeon not far from here that will prepare you both for the challenges which lie ahead. But rushing ahead blindly will only lead to recklessness and a swift end to your lives. For now, I think both of you should rest. Take the rest of the day to be together, to rest, to clear your mind and center yourselves. Tomorrow morning, we shall begin preparations.”