Lia the Scion

I rested in the hammock of Valeria’s shipping container, my mind adrift in that vague, semi-stable sea between wakefulness and sleep. I let my head loll back and vision blur, making images in discoloured spots on the corrugated metal walls. The images faded and reformed into memories from Kolyagrad. I couldn’t shake the terrible feeling of my own powerlessness. I’d never felt so vulnerable. Pressed against the wall, knife to my throat—I’d been useless. Worse than useless. Someone who couldn’t swim knew they shouldn’t dive into the ocean.

I sunk deeper into unconsciousness. I saw motion at the end of the shipping container. The beastly DelStag marched inside. The container turned into the biotech company’s hallway in Kolyagrad. The DelStag charged, antlers aimed at my chest. A hypnic jerk forced me awake. Valeria glanced at me. The motion at the end of the shipping container had come from her. ‘Take a nap, if you want,’ she offered.

No need. Rubbing my eyes, I climbed from the hammock. The footlocker made from berakite acted like a footstool. ‘I couldn’t do anything, in Kolyagrad,’ I confessed.

‘Nonsense. You gave me peace of mind, which allowed me to find the glowing moss.’

Could’ve sworn I had found the moss.

‘I couldn’t fight,’ I amended. I expected Valeria to talk about how strength came in different forms, but instead she shrugged and replied:

‘You’re useless now, but it’s a short-term problem.’

‘Does this have to do with what you said at the restaurant?’ That I’d be “so much more” or something. I peered over her shoulder, at documents compiled into an erudite mosaic.

‘I have said it before, but I’ll say it again: Your accrued combat ability will be critical, once we get you a suitable body. The pedagogical merit of kinaesthetic implantation is limited at best. Sure, it can rapidly train soldiers, but it lacks specialisation and versatility. That can only be achieved through years of training, which you have fulfilled.’

Valeria highlighted a short passage on a document titled “Theoretical Organic Cycling”.

‘Will I be able to deal with Horace?’

‘That and more. Speaking of which…’ Valeria turned on an archaic projector and dimmed the lights. Images appeared on the wall. ‘I’ve been thinking about our plan to eliminate Horace.’

‘Our plan?’

‘I may not have spoken to Zorica in a decade, but I don’t want her in exile any more than you do. Besides, Horace has always been a prick. I considered doing something sooner, but I am a humble researcher. With you and—did you say that snobby S-K boy agreed to help?’

‘He did.’

‘You trust him?’

‘I…’ A reflexive twitch of my tongue almost caused me to say I’d die for Aki, but I restrained it. ‘I trust him more than most.’

Valeria pursed her lips, unconvinced. ‘Anyway, the plan is this…’

As illustrated by the projected images, Valeria’s plan took place in Hong Kong. We’d do it during the annual Montim Aquinor Leadership Summit, which took place in a few months.

Being the underboss of Aquinor’s eastern territory, Horace was expected to do a speech at the opening ceremony. During the speech, Aki would trigger an alarm. The boss, underboss, and lieutenants always evacuated in different ways, to prevent the total annihilation of the syndicate’s leadership. Therefore, Horace would be isolated.

Before joining the research department, Valeria helped run security for the syndicate’s major events. She got blueprints of the compound used for the upcoming Summit from Corvus Corinthian. She assessed the evacuation routes based on safety. The underground passage would be reserved for the boss. The lieutenants would use the assorted main exits. But between those safety ratings, there was a fortified passage behind the stage, close to where Horace would make the speech.

Horace would have bodyguards. Valeria and I couldn’t handle them. But, the fortified passage’s greatest strength was also a weakness. We could lock them inside.

‘Then we’ll use this,’ Valeria said, gesturing to a canister. ‘Nerve gas. K-Type. Chemical weapon. Production and stockpiling outlawed in October of 2073, after the Florida Incident during the East Coast Civil War Part II.’ She almost sounded proud.

‘And you just happen to have a canister?’

‘Well, yeah. I was there.’

…Oh.

We finalised the plan’s details and discussed our respective roles. I would lock the end of the fortified passage, while Valeria locked the door behind the stage. The nerve gas would trigger remotely. During the months leading up to the event, we had to gather tech, weapons, invitations to the Summit, transportation, and a few other necessities.

‘We have our when, where, and what. I’ll set a meeting with Aki.’

Valeria put a hand on my shoulder. ‘Let’s wait a bit. His role is minor. Best to tell him when he’s needed, otherwise he might have second thoughts. S-K members tend to be fickle.’

By her tone, it wasn’t a suggestion.

‘There’s something else I wanted to discuss,’ Valeria said, and returned to that mosaic of documents. ‘Soon, I’ll be ready to restore your body.’

I blinked, uncertain I’d heard right. ‘…Say that again?’

‘It won’t be restored how you remember. It will be better. You are the human embodiment of stars aligning.’ She smiled and leaned closer. Her cerulean eyes were like calming, beckoning lakes.

Despite her confidence, I didn’t see how getting vaporised by a grenade launcher was lucky. Valeria sensed my disbelief.

‘Few people have 94% of cybernetics and extensive combat training. Few people have your mental grit. Furthermore, few people have pseudo-skin and cybernetics from Illarion Anatolyevich Athanaric.’

‘I thought it was a basic frame?’

‘It is basic, but it primes you for something else.’ She gestured at the documents. ‘When we were in Kolyagrad, I…liberated…four pieces of technology. Three of the pieces are difficult to obtain. The fourth—only one unit exists. By themselves, the pieces are basically useless, trinkets at best, so they were poorly guarded. But together, with your mind, I believe they can unlock a state of being few could even imagine.’

Few could even imagine? I gave an uneasy laugh. It wasn’t the first time I heard Valeria sound like a mad scientist, but now she wanted me to be the mad scientist’s monster. ‘I’m lost. What do you want from me?’

‘Permission.’

#

A month later, Valeria brought me to a rent-a-clinic. She’d rented an operating theatre for two days. It’s unclear if I ever gave pure, verbal consent, but I tacitly went along with whatever she had planned. My growing urge to return to my old body made me interested. My fantasy about having an even stronger body made me pliant.

Valeria donned a smock, mask, gloves, and hairnet. She led me to a wide operating table alongside a tray of instruments. Mobile light fixtures and heavier tools were mounted to the ceiling like great celestial beings descending to enact their will upon a human. Me.

‘Let me talk you through the menu,’ Valeria said, flipped open four metal cases, and gestured at each successive piece of tech.

First, an Organic Cycler. Implanted at the base of the neck. Highly Experimental. Needed post-operation rehabilitation time to become “attuned” to my cells. Had the ability to use massive amounts of energy to change the age of my cells, theoretically repairing damaged cells far quicker than natural.

Second, Subdermal Thyroid STiM. Implanted along the collarbone. When triggered, it stimulated the thyroid gland to produce more hormones. It didn’t make sense to me, since my thyroid had been replaced with a semi-mechanical one, but whatever. 

Third, Subdermal Adrenal STiM. Implanted along the ribcage and serratus anterior. When triggered, it stimulated the adrenal gland to, likewise, produce more hormones. In this case, adrenaline.

Fourth, the rarest, the God-Heart. Implanted adjacent my heart. When triggered…

Valeria snapped her fingers. ‘You know what, best we keep that a surprise.’ She squeezed my wrist. ‘Ready?’ She strapped my wrists and ankles down with leather restraints.

‘I-I’m not sure—’

Valeria had bowed her head. She murmured a prayer. I’d seen her pray before…in the subway clinic…when patients flatlined.

‘Should I be—?’

‘Oh, that’s right. You’ll have to contend with the installers. Just click through and you’ll be fine.’

‘What is—?’

‘You are going to be more perfect than Zorica could ever conceive.’ That was the last thing I heard, before Valeria placed a mask over my face and anaesthetic plunged me into darkness.

The darkness did not feel pure. It felt murky. Too substantial. Like an image of darkness on a lit screen. It took a moment to “open” my eyes. I’d been forcibly flipped cyber-side, a state of semi-consciousness. I was faintly aware of my body. Not enough to feel.

I turned my cyber-side body. White and blue geometry hung in the darkness. I went to it and stepped inside, until the darkness was replaced with white and blue. Text manifested, which read:

‘Welcome to Athanaric Imperial Intranet. Four devices detected. Would you like help setting up these devices?’

‘Yes,’ I said.

DEVICE ONE: ORGANIC CYCLER INSTALLER V.1.01

The white and blue morphed. A new scene manifested. A house. A garden. I recognised both. It was the house I’d grown up in. I watched as a younger version of me sprinted across the garden into Mother’s arms. Father sat with Priscilla on a swing. The scene reversed and replayed. On and on, I sprinted into Mother’s arms, who congratulated my speed. As the scene repeated, I moved closer to Mother. With the memory dissected, I noted her gaze shifted from me, albeit briefly. It shifted to Priscilla. As I reached Mother’s arms, she stared at Priscilla with a look of abject disdain.

What did the installer want from me?

Why did it manifest things based on memories?

My tech from pre-Horace days had needed to sync with me, the user, but it hadn’t needed memories. Unless this new tech needed something from them? Like, it needed to know my current perspective on the memories? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, I needed a way to “click through” like Valeria said.

I tapped random spots on the scene. Me. Mother. Father. Priscilla. Nothing happened. I waited for the scene to replay, and I tapped “my” shoulder as she sprinted into Mother’s arms.

I don’t know what about that worked, but the scene vanished. A loading bar appeared, filled, and vanished, too.

DEVICE TWO: SUBDERMAL THYROID STIM INSTALLER V.1.4

A new scene. A bathroom. A mirror. I recognised both. It was the bathroom I used to…try things. A teenage version of me stood before the mirror and whipped my back with a cable. I winced the first time but not after. My back turned redder with each hit, and eventually the hardest strike drew blood. I had felt no pain. My newest pain dampeners worked as intended.

I watched her, the younger version of me. I must’ve watched for too long because new text manifested, which read:

‘Athanaric Imperial Intranet. Inactivity detected. Deactivating in thirty seconds.’

Shit, I thought, and scrambled to tap random parts of the scene, but nothing happened. The blood? No result. No, no, it wasn’t about the blood. I remembered. Back then, I wasn’t only testing the pain dampeners. I tested the control I had over my facial features. The pain dampeners lessened the pain but didn’t remove it. As my back stung, I wanted to see if I could hold various expressions: Impassive, smiling, frowning.

I touched my face, and the scene vanished.

Note to self, I thought. Don’t loiter.

DEVICE THREE: SUBDERMAL ADRENAL STIM INSTALLER V.1.4.1

A new scene. No, three scenes. They sat next to each other, like interchangeable rooms of a dollhouse. I, as a teenager, in school and school-related events. In the scenes, I was alone with different people.

On the far left, I sat in the cafeteria with a boy named Titus. We’d dated, I think, to some degree. He kissed me. I didn’t reciprocate, though he wasn’t the type to notice. He tried pushing his tongue into my mouth, but I bit it. He slapped me, I fell off the bench, and then I got up. I slapped him. He didn’t get up.

The middle scene showed a shaded spot behind the school’s library. I leaned on the wall with a boy named Lucius. His hand traced my hip and went up my shirt. I let him feel my body but felt little in response. There was no sense of longing, like my classmates talked about. After a few minutes, I removed his hands, fixed my top, and walked away.

On the far right, a scene from after a formal dinner for the students. I was in the bathroom, a single room. Aemilia Seneca had joined me. Her lips were soft against mine. I held her close. Unknown minutes passed and someone pounded on the door. We laughed and got ready to leave.

I selected the correct prompt and the scene vanished.

DEVICE FOUR: RODINIA GOD-HEART INSTALLER V.0.1.1

New scene. Monochrome grey. Home. Mother, Priscilla, and I. A sombre evening gloom. I didn’t understand the scene. Mother beat Priscilla. I stepped between them. She hit me, in retaliation. I watched the scene multiple times, unsure how it had manifested.

What did the installer want from me?

Mother never hit me. The intranet must’ve manifested its own interpretation of my memories, or it was a corrupted system. Did it create a fictional scenario to see how I’d react? Like, self-learning algorithms?

‘Athanaric Imperial Intranet. Inactivity detected. Deactivating in thirty seconds.’

What, no? I wasn’t inactive. I tapped at random but nothing happened. Did the installer malfunction? The thirty seconds elapsed. The installer froze, and then the scene vanished. The same loading bar as before appeared, filled, and disappeared.

Did I do it?

Light.

Valeria.

I inhaled, as if I’d been resuscitated. I wanted to rise but couldn’t. Valeria asked how I felt. Weak. Dizzy. I couldn’t respond.

Valeria held a tablet and frowned. ‘I detected a hiccup related to the God-Heart, but it seems minor. So long as the God-Heart is able to active, I'm happy.’ She skipped around the operating theatre. How much time had passed. I tried to inspect my body, but plastic tarps blocked my view.

‘Now all we need is a Venator licence,’ Valeria said.

‘What?’ I groaned.

‘The tech has some major propriety blockages. It refuses to function without a licence.’

Couldn't have told me sooner? 

I mustered the strength to remind her I didn’t have one, but Valeria waved a hand. She leaned over me. With my unstable vision, it felt like I drowned in her cerulean blue eyes. ‘We’ll burn that bridge when we cross it,’ she smiled.