Given
Copyright© 2026 by Daniel Tors
Chapter 4
Unable to process any kind of tone that word may have carried, Yuna’s eyes widened as she looked at Ira, then down at herself while the realization gradually hit her.
What the fuck did I just do? was the closest thing to a cogent thought she could muster while desperately trying to cover herself in the middle of an open room. Failing that, her body instead shot downwards in front of the console, arms wrapping around her knees and holding them close in a bid to minimize visibility. Ira still looking over her, an oddly long and certainly unpleasant amount of time had passed since Thenn said anything.
Head held down, Yuna mustered the will to say something. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was ... D-Don’t be mad.”
“Hm? Mad? Why would I be mad?” Thenn inquired. “All you’ve done is give me invaluable data – and proven some of my theories right, at that. It really was a treat seeing you two interact.”
Suddenly looking up to where Thenn’s voice projected itself in front of her, Yuna rose her voice. “You watched?!”
“How couldn’t I? I didn’t say it was fascinating for no reason.” The hyena now huddled harder in the fetal position, Thenn continued, “Would you rather I hadn’t?”
“Yes! Don’t you know what privacy is?!” Yuna exclaimed, more upset than angry.
“I do, but ... you agreed to test something and did it right in front of me.”
Knowing there wasn’t any fighting back against that, she buried her head between her arms as she shook in the cold, remaining silent. Looking to cover herself and seeing it was out of reach, Yuna gently asked Ira if she could grab her suit. She felt it laid over her legs a short while after. Not looking up, Yuna said, “Could you turn around until I change ... Please.”
Having wiped herself off with what was available, refitted her suit, and stood up, Ira did as she was told and returned to face Yuna – hands clasped behind her back like a dutiful maid.
“So, what do you think?” Yuna looking confused, Thenn rephrased her question. “Of Ira. Just generally, what do you think of Ira?”
Looking towards the lizard, Yuna became apprehensive. “Do ... Do I have to answer now? Could she at least leave, first?”
Her now seeming confused, Thenn replied, “Why? It’s not like Ira’s conscious; you can’t hurt its feelings.”
“I guess so...” Yuna began, seeming unsure of that conclusion. “Talking about her like that feels wrong though, especially if she’s right here. Which she is...”
A short pause followed. “You’re dismissed, Ira,” and with those orders, she left without hesitation, or so much as a nod toward Yuna. “So, what did you think?”
“I don’t know ... It was weird.”
“‘Weird’ doesn’t do well on data sheets,” Thenn joked, her friendly demeanor returning.
Trying to come up with a proper answer, Yuna sat on Thenn’s original question for a few minutes trying to bring herself out of the mental fog she was in. Having a starting point she thought was good enough, Yuna, figuring it out as she spoke, said, “I don’t think I liked it. It’s not that I don’t think she’s a marvel of technology – because she is – or that I didn’t like her which ... you know ... I just don’t think I like the experience – overall. Having her plucked straight out of my head ... I ... It felt wrong. She was designed so perfectly, out of things even I couldn’t think to get that right, it was like my brain was in a trance. The second I looked at her – really, looked at her – it was like I couldn’t look away. It’s uncanny thinking about the way she looks. It’s like ... I knew her the second we met. She’s the culmination of vague ideas of things I like in someone, all figured out and made into a person.” She stopped, going back into her head to think for a while. Her returning words were full of internal doubt. “It feels like something’s been taken out of me. Ira was a concept, something that wouldn’t ever exist, that I didn’t even understand ... yet there she was. She may not have been conscious in the same way as me, but she was there. How am I supposed to look at anyone else and not think of her?” Her eyes beginning to water, she concluded, “It’s not like that excuses what I did. I knew it was a bad idea; I could’ve said no. But I didn’t ... Why the fuck did I do that?”
“Hey, hey ... when I said it didn’t bother me, I meant it. It really was quite useful, and any opportunity to observe you is one I’d take gladly. You are the first person of your kind I’ve met, after all,” Thenn told her encouragingly.
“Thanks. It’s not you that I’m so much worried about, though. I mean, you are, and I’m glad you aren’t bothered, but I know myself. I don’t even know if I deserve for it to be, but regardless of what happens or what you say, my mind isn’t just going to drop it. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been or what I try to do, every time I forget about it and try to move on the thought will just pop right back up. ‘Being here is all you’ve ever wanted to do, and that’s what you did with it. Nice fucking job.’” A small sniffle, one from more than just her exposure to the elements, could be heard after she finished.
“Well, if my words don’t mean anything to you, then I suppose I’m saying this just because I want to.” She sounded comforting. “Sometimes, you just make a bad decision. You’ve thought it over, know what you’re doing is wrong, and you do it anyway. As you can see, I’ve not always been known for perfect adherence to ethical or safety guidelines. But, I knew what I was doing – what I wanted – and committed anyway. There’s nothing to be done about it now. We’ve made our choices.”
Redirecting the conversation, Thenn questioned, “What would you have rather done?”
Yuna’s response was relatively quick, her voice still uneven. “Just talked with both of you, I guess. Even then I feel like I did that part wrong, too.”
“How so?”
“There were questions I’d worked on for if I was the first one to make contact, and I thought they’d make for some really good conversation. I can’t remember any of them though...” She trailed off, dejected.
Thenn pushed her to try and remember and waited while she thought. Upon receiving confirmation that she couldn’t think of any, Thenn told her, “Well that’s no problem, you’ve still got plenty of time to think of them. There’s a ship I recently detected coming right toward us; shouldn’t be long before they get here. You can keep trying while I get some things in order, if a few minutes alone sounds nice.” However it may work, Yuna could hear the broad smile on Thenn’s face as she said this.
The few seconds of silence after her agreement told Yuna that Thenn had gone off. Moving to slump herself against any other computer, Yuna let out a long sigh.
‘There’s nothing to be done about it now’. Not the first time you’ve told yourself that, and like it’s ever worked. ‘Sure, you fucked with one of the most important moments of your life, but who cares, it’s already happened’. Fuck. I still feel horrible. Yuna raised her hand to slam it into something metal (like there was anything else) but didn’t commit. Thinking of how much better she would’ve felt, her thoughts shifted to how much it would hurt. Then, to why it would hurt, and to the material itself. Namely, that it was solid, grey, and all of it within view was completely spotless. Yuna considered that there was an area not so spotless, as well as her teams’ imminent arrival. Speaking of, there’s a certain something they would no doubt want to see once they do.
Near ripping the camera out of its socket, she brought it up to her face. Yuna’s eyes bugged out as she started panicking, fumbling with the camera to turn it off and speed walking out the bridge door – only keeping herself from full sprinting so she wouldn’t trip or fall down the exit hatch by accident. Repeatedly swearing to herself all the while, Yuna finally managed to locate the off button. The indicator next to it wasn’t lit up. Assuming it must have never turned on and she just didn’t realize, relief washed over her. Right after, as she was nearing the exit, Yuna looked up from the camera when she heard someone speak to her.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll make sure the footage is gone,” said a female voice, one she didn’t immediately recognize.
Yuna looked up to the source of it, coming from the entrance to the main hall. The lighting was dim, as usual, and she squinted to get a better look at them. It took her a few too many heartbeats to figure it out, but her eyes did not deceive.
Yuna was looking at herself. An exact copy.
“Thenn!” Yuna called to the ceiling, frozen in place. No answer came. Yuna’s double looked straight into her, expression unclear to Yuna in the lighting, leaning against the massive doorframe, hands clasped behind her back. Neither of them moved. The hatch between them was closed
Yuna began to ask, “Who–”
Cutting her off instantly, the double spoke in a commanding voice – completely unlike how she sounded previously. “Who do you fucking think I am, Yuna?”
Her heart skipped. “Thenn? What are–”
Thenn again stopped her short, musing, “That’s the first time you’ve said my name without calling for me, did you know that? What does it look like I’m doing?” These were not questions to be answered.
Yuna stepped back, terrified, and reached down to her hip to undo the holster’s retaining strap. Clumsily drawing the handgun within, she pointed it at Thenn and tried to turn off the safety. Neither it nor Thenn budged.
Thenn took an identical-looking firearm out from behind her back, letting it dangle by the trigger guard from her finger.
Yuna’s gun wouldn’t fire, nor was there an entrance for a magazine. It slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor. Desperately trying to keep composed, Yuna appealed, “M-My team will be here soon. You ... Y-You don’t...”
Thenn’s eyes continued boring into her; no response was necessary.
Not sure what else to do, Yuna whimpered, “I’m sorry if you’re mad ... I d-didn’t mean–”
“Shut up,” Thenn interrupted, “Not. another. word.” She stopped, just watching and idly tapping the gun’s barrel against her leg. Yuna, hesitant to do much of anything, watched as Thenn’s gaze shifted from the wall on her left and back to herself a few times, the double letting out a long sigh afterward.
“Clothes. Take them off and reattach that camera. Now.”
Yuna did as she was told without putting up a fight, suit off and hands back into a non-confrontational position as quick as possible. Thenn instructed afterward for Yuna to place her hands behind her back – an order she followed. As Thenn walked over, gun at her side, the expression she had became clear; it was stern – one Yuna couldn’t recall ever holding. She made her other hand visible and in it was a black circle that fed into itself. When placed around her wrists and tightened, any attempt to move was made futile. Not so much as looking her in the eye, Thenn grabbed the suit and moved towards the main hall, gesturing sharply for Yuna to follow. She trailed behind the once-AI and they arrived at the first room on the right. When ordered to sit against the wall, she did so, and had the suit thrown in front of her four-toed feet.
Looking at Yuna dead on, Thenn said, “move and I’ll blow your brains against the wall,” turning to leave but a second after she got confirmation.