Log 7: Moving Foward

Katherine's vision faded in and out. Her ears rang. Was she on a stretcher? What had happened? Her limbs were heavy. A doctor said something, but she could not understand. Overwhelmed, she let the world fade to black.

A shock of pain! But no awakening. Why couldn't she see? What was happening? She was conscious, but her body wouldn't respond. Wait... her vision was returning. She was on a hospital bed—no—a table?

Katherine moved her arm, but she felt nothing. She looked at her hand. Metal?

"What's going on?" Kathy asked, confused.

Out of view, a door slid open. She looked behind her. A man in a long red lab coat, trimmed with an inky black fabric, walked to the table. Smiling widely, he held his hands wide.

"Ms. Katherine Pecan, it's wonderful to see that you're finally awake!" the physician exclaimed. "What do you think of the body? Is it a suitable replacement?"

"I—I don't—I don't understand...?" Kathy replied.

The physician clapped thrice, the lights flashed on, and he offered his hand to shake. Katherine slowly moved her hand to shake his. Was this a dream? Yes, that was the only explanation.

"I am Doctor Sol Von Ichorous! It's a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh—well, steel. No matter!"

"..."

Katherine was lost for words. Was she a cyborg? Or something worse? Wait... there was a girl. That's right, Katherine had pushed her out of the way. Was the accident really that bad? Dear God, she hoped not.

"You seem perplexed," the doctor said. "Would you appreciate an explanation?"

Kathy nodded.

"The gist of it is you were hit by a car that malfunctioned and your body was so badly damaged that we couldn't save you under normal circumstances." Sol grinned. "Lucky for you, I was able to get you to my personal la—clinic and transfer your soul into the body of a robot."

Katherine's chest became heavy, but she heard no heartbeat. She stared down at her hand. It was completely metallic. He hadn't lied. She really wasn't in her body anymore! But how? She didn't know of any Aspects that had such an ability.

"Was this really the only way? How did you do it? Am I still able to be in sports? Did you actually transfer my soul? Or just my knowledge?" Kathy asked in quick succession.

Sol raised his left hand. "One at a time, please. Ask the most important questions first."

"Did you transfer my soul or the knowledge in my brain?"

"Well, if my theories are correct, simply transferring knowledge isn't enough. The soul is required. Thus, with how you're acting, I do believe it worked. If I'm proven incorrect, then I will change my first name."

"If that's true... will I still be able to play on my team?" Kathy asked, dismayed.

Sol sighed. "Unfortunately, because of regulations, I doubt it."

"Oh..." Katherine said, disheartened. "Was there another way?"

"No."

Ms. Pecan tried to sigh, but only a low robotic hum came out. "What have I lost?"

"Not a lot, actually."

"But, what specifically, Doctor?"

"You cannot eat or breathe, nor can you sleep. Though the last one's been exchanged for charging."

"I have to charge?"

"You have a port in your foot. Plug it into an outlet and you charge in no time flat. It should only take 4 hours to go from 1 to 100%. Just don't let yourself drop to 0."

"If that happens, will I die?"

"No, no. You just won't be able to move."

"Alright..."

Katherine carefully stood. It was strange. She could feel the floor, but it wasn't cold; it wasn't warm. It just felt like tile. She couldn't feel the temperature. That was a shame. Would she be able to feel the wind rush through her hair? Would she be able to be refreshed by swimming? How much would be different?

"Follow me," the physician directed.

Sol led Kathy to a mirror. Looking back at her was something strange. It mimicked her appearance, but it wasn't quite right.

"We aren't done yet. If you'd be able to stay here for a day or so while we install the skin and some of the other sensors that would be appreciated."

"Oh, yes. I can," Kathy said. "Thank you for everything, Doctor."

"Not a problem at all!"

***

The next day, on Chicago's south side, Idree and Andree Alexandria went to the address Dr. Glass had given them in hopes of finding any information about Kairo Morutsuku.

The twins carefully traversed the stairs of the apartment building, never touching the rusted railings. Before they reach Apartment 315, Andree noticed part of the wall of Apartment 317 seemed badly charred. The two hurried over and looked around. The apartment was caked in soot, like a bad fire had been lit. Far below the balcony lay a mattress.

"What do you think happened?" Idree asked.

"Well, based on the other damages, I'd say a skirmish," Andree proposed, investigating the walls.

"It does seem so, doesn't it?" a woman said from the apartment's entrance.

She had silver hair that reached her hips, and her eyes were an unsettling purple. She wore a blue dress with a simple flower pattern.

"Am I interrupting anything?" the woman asked.

"No," Idree said.

The woman walked over to the twins and shook their hands.

"Might I ask why you're visiting this apartment?"

"In all frankness, we actually got distracted when we saw the burns," Idree admitted.

The woman chuckled. "Then, who are you here to visit? I might know them."

"We're looking for the Yamaguchi residence," Andree informed her. "We wish to discuss something with the renter."

"Well, this a good coincidence, then," the woman said. "I am Ms. Yamaguchi. And don't worry, aside from my sister, there aren’t others with the Yamaguchi surname within this complex. Let's discuss things in my residence."

Ms. Yamaguchi prepared tea for her guests. She took the seat across from them.

"What is it you want to discuss?"

"Dr. Glass informed us that you go by Index, is that correct?" Andree asked.

"That I do." Ms. Yamaguchi sipped her tea.

"Do you know a man named Kairo?" Idree inquired.

Index smiled. "Yes. He lives in the charred residence next door. Though, I haven't seen him recently."

"Well, there is—do you mind if we continue this chat at my place?" Idree asked.

"Oh, yes, that would be fine."

***

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Chicago, Sol finished putting the last touches on Katherine’s skin and a few other sensors. Being a robot was less strange than expected. Now that all the sensors were installed, she was quite similar to a regular human again. She could smell and feel heat and cold. It was all quite amazing.

"Ouch!" Kathy yelped. "Are pain sensors even necessary?"

Sol waved his finger. "Tch! Tch! Tch! You underestimate the usefulness of pain, Ms. Pecan."

"How so?"

"Pain is a powerful thing. Take for instance, if you were upgraded to something more complex than charging, it'll come in handy. Oh, and your sensors are currently turned way down."

"Alright, but then why can't I just get the sensors added if I upgrade?"

"Because it's easier to do it now."

Katherine frowned.

"But, hey, now that I know your pain sensors are functional, that should be everything done."

"Really?"

"Indeed! Now, let's get you clothed and outside again."

It took several minutes to find the place Sol's assistants had put Katherine's new clothes and her now-repaired phone. Once that was settled, Sol showed her to the door.

"Thank you again," Kathy said. "For everything, Doctor."

"Yes, yes. You're welcome. Now get goin'! Your friends are probably worried sick. I bet your little accident made a big news splash!"

Katherine smiled. "I'll be sure to do that. Thank you, Doctor."

The wind felt wonderful! It was amazing what technology could do. She jogged down the pavement, letting the wind flow through the body's synthetic hair. Kathy stopped by a small gardening shop and took a sniff of the poppies. They smelled wonderful. Better than normal.

From everything she'd discovered, it seemed that most of her senses were stronger by a fair margin. Although, she couldn't do anything as reckless—Katherine gasped, her vision crossed, and her legs buckled. What was going? Maybe a malfunction? That seemed the most likely.

The second her body went back to normal, Kathy sat down on a bench to calm herself.

***

Saturn was resting on the sofa when the trio quietly entered. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Morning," Saturn mumbled.

"It's almost noon, silly," Idree ruffled her hair. "The girl's name is Saturn, she was under Kairo's wing for a little bit."

Saturn shot upright. Andree sat next to her and Index sat across from them.

"Are you going to save Kairo?" Saturn asked Index.

"I'd love to help. Kairo's a good man, there isn't a doubt in my mind that he wasn't in the right," Index said. "I assume you're looking for him then?"

"Yes. Thank you, Saturn, you've sped things along quite well," Idree said. "From what Saturn's explained, she was being experimented on beneath the city and Kairo freed her. But, the scientists using her sent men to bring her back. Kairo gave her time to flee, and now she's here."

"I see." Index fell into thought. "I have a way to learn where he's being kept, but it will take a few days. Is that fine?"

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!" Saturn nodded vigorously.

"To cloak her, I suggest getting her a wig or something and enrolling her in a class temporarily. This will be used to throw them off," Index suggested.

Andree leaned back. "That's not a bad idea at all."

"How would we know she's safe," Idree asked.

"Give her a phone, even a couple simple trackers. That's how," Index answered. "Anyway, I need to hurry to Kairo's apartment. Andree, can you drive me back?"

"Yeah, totally," Andree said. "Let's head."

"Bye-bye!" Saturn said as the door slid shut.

***

Meanwhile, at a recently visited clinic, the door to Brady's office fell to the ground with a loud crash. When she looked up from her work, a former bounty hunter called Atlas, lesser known as Perraden Octavian, entered. Ms. Glass glared when she noticed who was behind him.

"What can I do for you today?" she asked in her typical droning voice.

Her former colleague, a man she refused to call anything other than Narcissus, walked up to her.

"Of your most recent patients, were any of them named Saturn?" Narcissus inquired, sounding as condescending as ever.

"No, Narcissus, I do not believe so," Brady lied.

Perraden grabbed her hair and stared daggers at her. "You have the same tracker we implanted, it showed up last night. Who gave it to you?!” the former hunter snapped.

"Don't waste your breath, Atlas," Narcissus said. "You cannot scare her. I've tried on multiple occasions. It's actually infuriating."

Perraden let go. Brady fixed her hair and stepped back.

"I'll ask again," she said. "What can I help you with?"

Narcissus rolled his eyes. "Then I'll ask you again. Have you had a female patient named Saturn visit your clinic recently?"

Brady glanced over some files on her computer.

"I had a Saturn Westfield visit three days ago. She had a broken arm," Dr. Glass said. "But aside from her, no."

"Why can't you just cooperate?" Narcissus complained.

Brady shrugged. "I thought I was."

"Should we take her in for questioning?" Perraden asked.

"There isn't much of a point, really. She's too stubborn of a woman. I respect that though," Narcissus said. "We'll be leaving now."

Atlas glared at her as they left her office.

After several minutes, Brady muttered, "I should've asked for the twins phone numbers. Oh, well."