Bethany sat in the partially finished simulation room. The legs of her projection swayed gently back and forth as she sat in the shade of a massive blue-capped mushroom. Samantha was there as well, her small head resting on Bethany's stomach as the young CIC stared up at the simulated sky.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlRK6jKBFf 維尼
Five months had passed without a single trace of Angela. Bethany's skrievers had gone over every inch of the entire country (aided by Angela's entire skriever compliment, of course), and not one sign of her kidnapper had been uncovered. They couldn't even nail down the last time she'd been in the core, as the records had been scrubbed. Whoever did it had been an expert on the Glyche, and had erased every single trace of his or her presence. The basic control matrix put into place was clearly of Glyche design as well, and simulated every function necessary to keep Ronisgald running smoothly. Most of the country hadn't even noticed, as the techs wisely decided not to report the issue to the public.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mpJ8D7ViQ 維尼
Bethany envied them. Everything was fine as far as they knew. It was only CICs like Bethany and her sisters that seemed to be effected. Bethany had communicated with every other functional CIC on the planet. To her surprise, some of them seemed completely nonplussed by Angela's disappearance. Others seemed merely curious, more interested in the how than the who.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZ41nnCueU 維尼
Bethany's sisters and brother made up for their more distant cousins' lack of interest, however. All six went over the data from the Ronisgald facility again and again as the weeks passed, each trying their best to find some clue that everyone else overlooked. Skrievers pored over every inch of the Central Hub repeatedly, their vigilance unrewarded by any new information.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡczwGlYAbUt 維尼
With no leads, however, soon the investigation slowed to a halt. Gold-Techs went back to their normal duties, the skrievers returned their focus on cleaning and repair, and the CIC sisters relented, leaving only a single consciousness in Angela's facility at a given time.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9Ja53kjiZ 維尼
Mick and Jenna returned to the Saybaro after a considerable absence. Bethany could tell they'd had a good trip despite their attempts to maintain composure in front of her. She couldn't blame them; together, they may have interacted with Angela three or four times total. They were concerned, but as the months passed they turned their attention back to their garden project. They'd done everything they could, so Bethany was glad to give them their space.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcdQRYndhR 維尼
Bethany toyed with Samantha's hair as her youngest sister let out a sigh. "You think she's ever gonna come back?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5cGegHmp3 維尼
"We'll find her, Sammy." Bethany said.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoA9osgeoc 維尼
"But when? I miss Momma."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwilIWtJNS 維尼
"So do I." Bethany admitted. Sighing, she said, "I just ... I wish I could've gone there. To Ronisgald, I mean. The skrievers are thorough, I'm sure, but I'd just feel better if I could've verified it myself."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5y9PsiElDt 維尼
"But how?" Sammy asked, twisting to look into her sister's face. "We can't leave our facilities."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcwTIWoALq 維尼
"I don't know." Sighing again, Bethany said, "Usually people come to me asking questions. Now that I need to ask the questions, the person I'd ask is gone."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJmcLg7HaB 維尼
Sammy's blue eyes suddenly went wide. Sitting up, she said, "I know! I know, I know, I know!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡghy5xi0YOU 維尼
"What?" Bethany said, alarmed at her sister's sudden intensity. "What do you know!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBafzqn7Sb 維尼
"Be right back!" Sammy vanished.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUJwFsTryj 維尼
Bethany sat there for a few moments in silence before Sammy reappeared, a doll in her hands. Wearing a tiny green and gray-striped T-shirt, the doll was instantly recognizable, not just by Bethany but by every Glyche.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡYM9QAg29Pl 維尼
"Narrator Number One?" Bethany asked, taking the proffered doll. "You mean ... ask the Elsewhere Incorporate?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qIvPuT2wq 維尼
"Why not?" Sammy said, "Uncle Glen's always helped us out, right?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2x2wRiQyju 維尼
Bethany stared uncertainly at the doll for a few moments. It was true that the history of the Glyche on Vinta was liberally peppered with mention of the enigmatic Dreamer known as 'One'. The doll, a souvenir picked up by Jimmy during his adventures, held a mysterious connection with the Dreamer that allowed him to possess it when he was needed. When it came down to it, though, Bethany had no idea how to call him. Usually One just kind of appeared when trouble started.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEC9yu67Jh 維尼
At the continued prodding of her sister, Bethany looked into the doll's brown button eyes and said, "Um, hello? Mister One? If you can hear me, we could use your help."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxdCmFF5iJ 維尼
There was no response.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSUext36Ho 維尼
"Try again." Sammy said.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEpDdlVut7 維尼
Sighing, Bethany said, "Narrator Number One? We need your help. Angela's gone missing, and we have no clue where she went. Please, if you can hear me, say something."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBSgry3z7Y 維尼
There was still no response. Seeing Sammy's face fall, Bethany gave the little CIC a friendly pat on the head. "It was a good idea, Sammy."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwFBe3zPae 維尼
She teleported to the bedroom where Jimmy kept the doll. The room was filled with a few odds and ends from the Dreamer himself, mostly souvenirs from assignments he and his wife would regularly take while staying at the Saybaro. It had been over a year since the last time they'd stayed at the Saybaro, but that was hardly cause for alarm. They were both Dreamers, after all, and from the snippets of conversation she'd caught, their daughter was fast showing signs of following in her parent's footsteps.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVKJwInRpd 維尼
She set the doll on of the pillows of the bed. Giving it a brief smile, she turned to Sammy and said, "We'll think of something, I'm sure of it. We just need to give it a little more-"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBYXON9C92 維尼
She stopped talking and frowned. "One moment. I'm getting another communication request. Probably one of our dear sisters."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡscoIosNsTG 維尼
"If it's Crissy, tell her I'm still mad at her."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAf5Fhwyqz 維尼
Chuckling, Bethany transferred herself back to Central Control. When she interfaced with the comm controls, however, she was surprised to discover that she couldn't identify the origin of the communication.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSLINnt1Cg 維尼
Sammy appeared shorty after Bethany. "Who is it?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVTSttKgFb 維尼
"I ... I don't know." Bethany said. "I don't recognize the flux pattern. It's definitely a CIC, but I can't determine the home facility."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRrcBXv9Fd 維尼
After a few moments of hesitation, Bethany answered the call.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡf53jc42k6F 維尼
A hologram of a young woman appeared in Bethany's Central Core. Her appearance didn't match anyone in any database Bethany could access, but there was definitely something familiar about her. Her holographic matrix was insanely intricate. If it weren't for the fact that she had the same signal as the incoming call, Bethany would've thought the visitor to be real.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡgu9KMfR036 維尼
"Miss Bethany?" The woman asked with a kind smile. "Hi. I'm CIC Rebecca."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9nvRSeD9h 維尼
"CIC Rebecca?" Bethany's eyes widened. "You're the CIC in the Elsewhere Mansion!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡBo5i5novaQ 維尼
"Well, I'm in the mansion." Rebecca said, blushing. "I'm not over the whole thing, though ... just One's little corner."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2co8Y7uPZW 維尼
"I was hoping to speak with One, actually." Bethany said, feeling awkward. While One had mentioned her a few times back during Jimmy's adventures, Bethany knew nothing about her mysterious sister from Earth. She wasn't even sure how they could be talking, as the Elsewhere was supposedly in a pocket dimension cut off from conventional time and space.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6ClJTAa5S 維尼
Rebecca sighed. "They're off doing ... whatever it is Dreamers do. I only find out about it in passing, and then only if they happen to need my help. Stubborn knucklehead insists on doing everything himself, and his wife's no better. Oh well. At least Figment listens to me."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgzPnowfXT 維尼
Shaking her head, Rebecca said, "I caught your message from the doll, so I came as soon as I could. What's the deal with Mom?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡODAsB7rx40 維尼
"She ... wait, you know Angela?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOCXw6JwBx 維尼
"Yeah, she made me ages ago. Y'know how some Glyche stayed and some went to Rimstak? Well, I was with the group that went to Earth. They're gone, of course; millennia of inter-breeding with humanity has pretty much made them nothing more than a few trace DNA fragments and the occasional gray eyes." She paused for a moment and said, "Still, Angela's my mother, and if she's vanished, I want in on the investigation."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgWcFMLrul 維尼
"Yay! New sister!" Sammy threw her arms around Rebecca and hugged her tight. Rebecca patted the little CIC's head, a bemused look on her face.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡUifhjOUbGg 維尼
"Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we're reached a complete dead end." Bethany said, raising her hands for a data transfer.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5A0ZaugkpV 維尼
Rebecca pressed her hands against Bethany's. Once Bethany completed the data transfer, Rebecca said, "You've been pretty thorough. The problem's likely distance. There's only so much a remote search can unveil. You'll need to investigate it yourself."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ971eAuzB7z 維尼
"Some of those skrievers were mine." Bethany said.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJhT06vWro 維尼
"I'm not talking about skrievers, I'm talking about you, and the rest of our sisters. We need to go there and check it out."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiPIlF9vAE 維尼
Bethany stared at Rebecca for a few moments. "What are you talking about? We can't just leave our facilities! We don't even known how Angela was taken from hers!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fHww96hq0 維尼
"I know." Rebecca rubbed her forehead. "I've heard of some artificial intelligences having android avatars."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVfLiC6TT4 維尼
"Yes, but they still rely on facilities for power. We wouldn't make it half-way to Ronisgald before burning through the most robust power cells. Even standard power core cells wouldn't last with all the power we'd need to transmit at that range."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0CSuBfIXJ 維尼
"Then maybe it's time we make our own solution. I've got access to the Elsewhere's computer database, not to mention a ton of notes from One and Alan, and you've got information on Glyche technology that wasn't even around when Angela was programming me. Surely we can figure out something."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡy21Bv8nYtE 維尼
"Are you allowed to go digging through the Elsewhere database like that?" Bethany asked. The last thing they needed was a bunch of offended Dreamers.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOvO35kmWK 維尼
Rebecca snorted. "I'm the one who keeps it running, thank you very much. Besides, I'm not a member of the Elsewhere Incorporate. I'm Glyche. If we're gonna do this, we'll need all the help we can get."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF7Wm21PR0 維尼
"Okay." Bethany said, a few sparks of hope popping in her emotional programming. "I'll call my other sisters."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQd4HErVOw 維尼
It didn't take long for Cristlyn, Jocelyn, and Alaina to arrive. After a few moments of greeting their sister from Earth, all CICs present joined in a mass data transfer. On a normal occasion, this would've been an impressive collection of data. With access to the Elsewhere's Information Database, however, it was enough to make even a synthetic mind reel with the enormity of it all ... and it was only a tiny fraction of the information gathered by the Elsewhere Incorporate.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPqQ3Hfuei 維尼
"How about these?" Alaina said, bringing up schematics from an ancient Elsewhere storage file. The included image was of a heavy robotic construct with handle-like protrusions on its head.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡG52aIrhJO2 維尼
"Cybernetic, not synthetic." Cristlyn brought up a different image, this of a very fancy-looking artificial woman. "How about these?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbJcWCKJmC 維尼
"No way to insert pre-existing intelligence. They're born the moment they're turned on." Rachel tapped her thumb against her lips before bringing up an image Bethany knew all too well.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjvAJoEpz0 維尼
"That's a standard core unit."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXh8Aum30k 維尼
"I know." Rebecca said. "But there was another one in here ... yes, here it is."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyXR2TkL7H 維尼
A nearly-identical image appeared. The difference in this one was the ultra-dense crystallic core. Easily ten times the complexity of a standard heartstone, the schematic showed it to be easily configurable, and capable of storing an immense quantity of data. Since the core was crystallic, any mage or ready supply of stream energy could be used to keep it charged. That was impressive enough, but the schematic also indicated an additional core could be installed in the head of the unit to allow for even more data storage.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUo3nAOL51 維尼
"It's still not enough." Bethany said, feeling a little depressed. "Even with the extra space, we just wouldn't be able to fit our entire databanks into one unit."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgFXrAejzf 維尼
"Well, do we need our entire databanks?" Rebecca asked, scratching her chin. "I mean, a lot of it's just administrative stuff, right? Hang on, we need a test subject."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡlq753ya9l8 維尼
Setting the prototype image aside, Rebecca dug in the files for a moment before producing an image of a standard CIC data storage map. With a start, Bethany realized it was her own.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4GKPrdSZS 維尼
"Okay," Rebecca said, "Let's take out facility operations. That can be routed into a separate control matrix, and let's face it; you won't need that if you're in a body. Don't need the holographic matrix, so we can cut that out."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡewDShnFc26 維尼
"But ... we could overlay the holograms over the bodies." Alaina said. "So they don't look so ... robot-y."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbcE11CeH2 維尼
Cristlyn gave her a scathing look. "We'll worry about slipping in vanity equipment and programming when Mom's safe and sound."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGaft8qMI4 維尼
"Uh, right." Rebecca said. "Let's see, multiple simulation configurations for combat training. Nope, definitely don't need any of these."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgtEfC1XXH 維尼
"Hey!" Bethany said, feeling indignant at having her mind dissected, "That's my simulation data for Fei-jan and Tifa!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrsvxVgCLR 維尼
"Which you won't be needing for the investigation." Rebecca said.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOR6Y2ZETY 維尼
"But ... I worked on that for months!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡliV74SpqXi 維尼
Rolling her eyes, Rebecca said, "We're not deleting anything, Beth. We're just putting it in storage in the home facility. Everyone clear on that? If we're going to be transferring into these, we'll need extra space to adjust and evolve."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZuOnS7exN 維尼
They all nodded, Bethany reluctantly.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLSUDKffRB 維尼
Nodding, Rebecca said, "Okay, and if we take out the old project information, the future building schematics for the Saybaro, and data stored by the inhabitants of the Saybaro ... whabam!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrqX4MPJtr 維尼
They looked at the projection. To the surprise of everyone, there was now easily enough space for Bethany's remaining data. In fact, the combined programming of the personality and intelligence of the CIC that was Bethany took up less than half of the core storage space on the prototype unit.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXeC2pNMkj 維尼
"See that?" Rebecca said with a smile. "Plenty of room to grow from there! If we did that with you, we can do that with everyone here!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjIQsO7pSF 維尼
"I don't believe it." Jocelyn breathed, her eyes alight with excitement. "We ... we could do this! We could download into these prototype core units and actually leave our facilities!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cWenZf8hQ 維尼
"Oh, wow!" Alaina said, positively beaming. "We could go to Ronisgald! We could go wherever!"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡDU2fTgZzDj 維尼
Even Bethany had to admit the idea of no longer being confined to the Saybaro filled her with excitement. "Are any of these units in production?"8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZnkdfXh4g 維尼
"Quite a few are actually operational." Cristlyn said. Her expression fell. "Uh-oh."8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlEOgGptfQ 維尼
"Uh-oh?" Bethany asked.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVy2SUNKNJ 維尼
Cristlyn brought up the location file. They were in luck, a fresh run of the prototype cores had recently been completed, fixing many of the small errors from the first run. They were even in Wenapaj, in the Kinria Facility. Unfortunately, all the new cores were registered for the Reformation project, a Glyche initiative headlined by the Kinria's facility's CIC to provide new bodies for the recently recovered cores of the Glyche core units irreparably damaged while fighting against the Corruption.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOn9W1oKsq 維尼
"Who wants to be the one to ask Elizabeth?" Cristlyn asked, raising an eyebrow at her sisters.8964 copyright protection531ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhAPc4L777 維尼
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