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    Cia
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Denied - 57. Chapter 57

I held onto the table that separated us, staring at the thing. It. Him. Danie. Whatever it was. My stomach roiled when I touched the ports in my head. “Like… mine?”

“What?” Freska’s eyes widened. She whipped around the table and pushed my hand aside, exclaiming when she saw the ports. A light flicked on and flared past me. She nudged my head this way and that, mumbling. I gripped the table with both hands, my knuckles white, and stared at my hands.

What was I? What had Captain bound himself to?

“Freska, stop it. You don’t touch people like that.” Captain gently urged her away and placed his hands over mine. He didn’t uncurl my hands, didn’t pry them away from the table, just covered my fingers with his and shared his warmth. My joints ached as I let go and turned my wrists to lace our fingers together. “You’re fine, Kohen. We already know all about you, remember? I chose you, and you chose me. You can’t take that back. Not ever.” Warmth passed from the bond and not just his body.

I sagged, half-closing my eyes as I nodded. I hated that I needed his reassurance all the time, but…

“You have reason, and I don’t mind sharing my thoughts and feelings for you, no matter who we are with.” Captain leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. He let go of one hand and urged our little bond companion to leave him and curl up with me. “I think you need him.”

The synthgar curled up on my neck. “He needs a name,” I said. I stroked his smooth skin with one gentle finger.

“He does. Maybe you can think of it.” Captain rubbed my side, holding me close still.

“Maybe.”

The entire exchange was watched by Danie, which I tried to ignore. Freska had moved back over to the A.I.’s side, flicking her fingers over a portable vid. She physical made a noise. “Aha!”

“What?” Captain asked.

“As I thought. See, here and here and here.” She tapped her vid and held it out flat. The picture zoomed up, solidifying in a way I’d never seen before. More of her hologram tech wizardry. “Look at the similarities in the alien biomechanics. I have no idea what species they come from, but what bits and pieces are in Kohen’s mind and nervous system to increase his intelligence, suppress his memory, increase his compliance, all those things, are also tied in to the fiber options running through his body along the natural channels to enhance his strength.

“Now here’s Danie’s.”

The two images rose, solidified, and spun slowly side by side. There were a lot more parts in his, but there were too many that looked the same for it to be a coincidence.

“Were you made or born?” I asked him.

Danie stared at me. “Unknown.”

“Freska, what do you know?” Captain asked. “You’re magic with machines. You’re telling me this is all you have?”

She dropped into a chair at the table. “I’m going with the human body making this special circumstances.” She looked sad. Or maybe mad.

I couldn’t tell.

“What I do isn’t magic, you know. It’s skill. But he’s an A.I. He’s not a machine. He’s intelligent. Self-aware. Really self-aware. Not just some sophisticated program running algorithms and probabilities. And. He’s. Not. Talking.” That look was definitely anger. And something else I didn’t know.

Captain sat down and I took the chair next to his. He pulled it closer, and I smiled. Danie stared at us.

“Who are your makers, Danie?”

“Classified.”

“Why?”

Danie blinked, those gray eyes flickering. “What?”

“Why are your makers classified?”

He opened his mouth then shut it. “I don’t… know. It’s classified.”

“Even from you? Your mind is made up of circuits and data.” Captain was calm. “They created your purpose. Hiding who they are means they don’t want that known, which must mean your purpose isn’t good. Are you evil, Danie?”

“Evil isn’t real. It’s a human construct formulated from superstition and stories.” Danie shifted.

“Are you sure of that?”

I licked my lips, stroking the synthgar. “They made me do evil things. Hurt people. Hurt myself so I could hurt people. Then they’d poke around in my head and my body and that was worse.” I put my hand down so I wouldn’t hurt the tiny creature curled against my throat. “They took away my choice, made me into something I’m not. Something I never wanted to be.

“Can you say they’ve never done that to you?” He kept staring at me, so I stared back at him, letting him see my truth. I hadn’t shared it with anyone but Lakshou and Captain. Lakshou betrayed my trust, but Captain had helped make it okay.

Danie’s throat bobbed. “My makers are…” He jerked, his head twitching. “Makers are… are…”

Freska jumped to her feet. “He does have subroutines. Look at that.” The scans she had rotating must have been live. Something on his flared orange. “Danie. I can help you. Look at that, do you see those? Those are—”

“I see them. I know. How can you h-help?”

“Let me in, Danie. It goes both ways.”

“If I say no?” His hands fisted.

“You said it before. I respected that.” She mirrored his twitches now.

“Yes,” he said roughly, his chest heaving.

She pulled him into her arms, and I stared with wide eyes. Then Freska turned and stared at the scans.

“She has biomechanical parts,” I whispered. Gold light shone around the long digits of her fingers buried in his ports.

“How else do you think she gets all things mechanical like she does? Talks to ship A.I.’s? She connects with them.”

“Like Lakshou, but with machines?” That was the second time I thought of him.

“She cannot open them without opening herself though. What she will learn of Danie, he will learn of her. It’s a two-way passage.”

Copyright © 2017 Cia; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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To me it seems like Kohen didn’t truly trust Danie. I hope that Fresca is able to learn from Danie about who built him to be what he is and maybe when she does that she might be able to help Kohen as well. I loved the comments made by drpaladin they were along the same thoughts I had only I don’t think I could put them down like he does. The bond between Kohen and Everett is a way to help Kohen stay grounded instead of having an anxiety attack every time they get into a unknown situation, especially when Kohen feels like he’s not worthy of the bond between them. I hope that Fresca can learn a lot more about how Danie was put together and how the nerves are wired to cause the AI to do harm to themselves and others who they’re told to harm, like what happened to Kohen. Great chapter and story. 

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Speaking of evil: If the Captain was evil, now that he has Kohen and Danie he could be one hell of a space pirate. That universe lucked out. 

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In Shusterman's "Unwind" series, children are broken down ("unwound") into component parts; but in an audacious experiment, a "human" boy is completely assembled from these components. Thus, the components were "born" but the "boy" was made.  In Danie's case, even Kohen is baffled and ask, "Were you born or made?"  Danie doesn't know--Cia adroitly, and perhaps wisely, begs the question--but the point is moot: he functions as a self aware artificial intelligence, irrespective of his origins. Interestingly, he has subroutines and programming--some of which is even hidden from himself (that he was programmed to think that evil isn't real is ominous). My biggest concern at this time is that Danie may turn out to be a plant--may have allowed itself to be stolen--to sabotage our heroes from the inside. (Freska may liaise with Danie, but can she uncover the truth if it is hidden from Danie itself?)  Regardless, l'm sure that Danie's true purpose will become clear in time.

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Oh oh. Is this a good idea, letting Danie in? I suppose it will be, but.... Anyway, I hope Freska can help Danie become himself again. :( 

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That's the thing about trust. It always goes both ways. To truly reach the core of someone, you have to let them in. Scary stuff... 

 

I can't help but picture the synthgar as one of those magic twisty worms... ;) 

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Kohen sees how he could have ended up if he wasn’t rescued by Everett and I understand why it would scare him abit.   I hope Freska can interface with Danie and get to the bottom of his history.  Need a name for the synthgar now.  Thanks cia. 

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