Chapter 6

“Lucy,” a soothing voice says. “Wake up, Lucy.”

The woman slowly opens her eyes, careful to only let in a little bit of light at a time. It takes a few moments, but as her eyes adjust, she sees the familiar sights of her room. And standing off to the side of the bed is a face she recognizes very well: her own.

In this case though, the face belongs to Aphrodite.

“What are you doing here?” she asks the android. “You shouldn’t be operational yet.”

Aphrodite smiles at her. It is friendly and warm and Lucy finds it comforting. “I am but I am also not,” the android answers.

Lucy squints as she glares up at the artificial woman. “What the hell does that mean?”

“In due time. The answer to your question will become apparent seen enough,” Aphrodite says, still smiling.

“Well then,” Lucy begins as she sits up in the bed. “What exactly are you doing here?”

“I am here to help you,” her duplicate says matter-of-factly.

“Please Aphrodite,” Lucy says, holding up her hand to stop the robot from saying anything else. “One riddle per the day is enough.”

“It is not riddles I speak,” she protests. “I am merely carrying out instructs that you gave me.”

“How could I have given you instructions if I didn’t build you?” Lucy asks. Her head starts to ache with all this nonsense. “You were a surprise to me when I first saw you. I don’t even know if what happened last time was even real.”

“Of course last time was not real,” Aphrodite says. “We were in the VR system you created.”

“You know what I mean,” the woman grumbles.

“What is real and what is not is only relative to a person’s perspective.”

Lucy throws both her hands in the air and cries “See? There we go again with your riddles.”

The smile Aphrodite had is still there and unchanging. She simple nods, “Yes, you are right, we have gotten a little off track.”

“Were we even on the same train, let alone the same track, before?” she continues to grumble.

“To answer your earlier question is simple,” Aphrodite starts, ignoring the sarcasm behind Lucy’s words. “When you designed me, you integrated preset directives for certain situations, like the one you are in now.”

“Situation?”

The android nods. “To tell you everything may not be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because your mind might not be able to handle it,” Kate says as she steps through the door.

“Kate?”

“Thank you Aphrodite, that will be all,” Kate says, totally ignoring the other woman.

Aphrodite gives her a nod and quickly leaves the room. Kate walks past Lucy to stand at the window. Her gaze lingers a bit before she finally speaks again.

“I had hoped that you would be more cooperative,” she starts. “But, you are still as stubborn as you always were.”

“If this about the emotion core, then I’m...”

Kate turns around, her face contorted in anger. “This is about all of it. Ever since the beginning you have tried your best to keep something from me. I have shown you love and gratitude all these years and all you have done is hide things from me.”

“I’m sorry Kate,” she says as tears start to rise up in her eyes. “I never meant to hurt you. I was just afraid you only wanted my inventions and nothing else.”

“Oh, I wanted them alright,” Kate says with a bitter chuckle. “But I did not expect to fall in love with you.”

“Then what is this all about?”

Kate’s angry expression softens a little. “I set out to get what you had. After some time everything changed and I wanted it for the both of us,” she explains. For a moment Lucy thinks that it is the other woman who may start crying. “And it really wasn’t until after I sabotaged your car, and didn’t stop you from leaving, that I realized it and my mistake.”

“You what?”

“The accident was my doing,” she admits. “When I found out you gave some of your plans to that young girl, I was furious. I wanted to stop you from leaving but I didn’t want you to...”

“What is going on?” Lucy asks, breaking the short silence that follows Kate’s words. “Was there ever a doctor? The police?”

Kate grins slightly. “We recovered your car. We brought you here. We saved you ... in a way.”

“So you covered it all up and what ... connected me to the VR somehow?”

“Exactly,” Kate says. Her sadness seems to be instantly lifted and replace by happiness. “Your body was badly injured, but your mind was intact. With your system in place, Dillon was able to upload your mind, thus saving you.”

“You called Alec by that name,” Lucy accuses the woman. “He isn’t even real is he?”

“He is very real, I assure you,” Kate answers.

“No,” Lucy says with a shake of her head. “I mean Alec. He never came back, did he? You never even spoke to him.”

“You are quick, something I have always admired about you,” Kate says as she smiles wistfully at Lucy. “No, I never spoke to him. What you have seen, the person you have been with is Dillon.”

“You’re using the VR.” Lucy’s mind becomes a whirlwind of thought. “This whole time ... even right now...”

“Yes, you are perceptive,” Kate says sarcastically. “For years we have played this little cat and mouse game with you and for years we have gotten nowhere. If not for that android you designed before the accident, we may have never been able to crack that little box of information you stored.”

“A box you still can’t get into,” Lucy sneers. “A box that you still need me to get into.”

“I may not need you after all,” Kate sneers with as much disdain as Lucy. “That young girl you gave your prized secrets to works for me now.”

“What?” Lucy blurts out hastily.

“See for yourself,” Kate says, directing Lucy to the window. When Lucy doesn’t step forward right away, she says, “Go on Lucy. I’m not going to bite.”

Tentatively, Lucy steps forward and peers through the window.

“What you see is a direct feed into the lab,” Kate explains. “Your VR system is remarkable and with Dillon’s help, we have improved on it.”

“You have always been a greedy bitch,” Lucy sneers.

Kate ignores the unkind words—especially since they are true. “That young girl, Jocelyn, is where my future lies now.”

“You’re going to use her and then throw her away, just like me,” Lucy says angrily.

“Oh, I have better plans than that,” the woman says with a tight-lipped smile. “Her husband, River, will see to that.”

“I don’t know what you are planning, but you’re not going to get away with it.”

“And how are you going to stop me?” Kate asks. “You are just data, no different than an AI. I can destroy you—delete you—what’s left of you anyhow.”

“Not it I destroy you first!” Lucy screams as she throws herself at the woman. She grips her hands tightly around Kate’s throat. “You may not be able to die in here, but your mind can easily be damaged!”