Chapter 1: Space

Lika and Nika are the maintenance cyborgs on the TX-503 transport, which carries researchers and colonists ... quite far. You can look it up in the on-board network. Lika and Nika have looked up, but they are more interested in the journey itself, not the destination, when the whole crew is sleeping in hibernation and only the two of them are taking care of the huge ship. In such a big place something goes wrong every day, just because of the amount of everything, so they have enough work to do.

Lika and Nika are repair technicians, space modification. That means they can withstand a wide range of temperatures, pressures, radiation, and significant chemical and mechanical damage. They feel all this, but do not perceive even extreme sensations as suffering. Their psyche has been adapted so that they are happy to live in seclusion for years. They connect to various devices, feel and control them as if they were parts of their own body. They can repair anything in a large ship. They have elongated toes that are useful for picking things up or operating tools. They were once women.

Lika and Nika met for the first time three months after the launch. Of course, they knew about each other, but so far they had no need to communicate. But then, on the fifth engineering floor, the fasteners of a large compressor fell apart. In principle, everything on the ship can be repaired alone, but it is easier to deal with large machines with four hands and four feet.

They meet at a large wall panel and nod silently to each other. Nika unscrews the panel and removes it by hand (with a gravity of 0.5g you can be strong, but not too light). A compressor cylinder falls from the recess onto her. Nika twitches reflexively to catch it, but she still holds the panel. Lika picks up the cylinder in exactly the same motion Nika would have done.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

A second cylinder falls out of the recess, and Lika grabs it with her foot.

The two of them quickly replace the fasteners, reassemble the compressor, and secure the panel.

“You’re great to work with, sister,” Nika says. “You’re like another set of hands.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

They nod at each other and part.

Over the next two months, they work together three more times, becoming increasingly comfortable with each other. Even though cyborgs don’t have telepathy, Lika and Nika work together as one body with one mind. I wonder, Nika thinks, if that’s because they’re cyborgs or not? She doesn’t know, she’s never worked with a pair before.

One day, Nika is hanging in a suspension seat across from the fourth control panel, checking the connections. The board is huge, there are tens of thousands of connectors. Each one has to be checked and, if necessary, cleaned or replaced. It’s a simple, meditative task, something Nika has done a million times before. But today she feels strangely uncomfortable ... bored ... sad ... She presses the communicator and asks: “Lika, are you free now?”

“Almost. Why?”

“Will you help me? I can do it alone, but it will be twice as fast with two of us.”

“I’m coming.”

Even through the communicator, Nika could feel Lika’s surprise. Did she need it for something? Just like that?

Soon Lika is hovering next to Nika, working just as skillfully and precisely. Now and then they accidentally touch hands or feet, and each time their bodies seem to scatter electric sparks. But that can’t be, they have the board completely shut down and secured.

They finish their work, run the tests, turn on the switchboard (many, many green lights, everything is fine) and close it. They put the equipment in the cell. Lika turns to leave.

“Wait, sister,” Nika says suddenly, “let’s go to my place, huh?”

Nika’s and Lika’s quarters are on opposite sides of the ship, so that an accident doesn’t incapacitate both cyborgs together. Lika looks around. It’s a cabin just like hers. A bed with a safety net in case of sudden shocks, a folding table, a personal computer with a large screen, a few lockers, no personal belongings in sight ... Everything is the same.

“What do you want to eat today?” Nika looks into the locker.

“What do you mean? It’s just food. We eat when we’re hungry, that’s all.”

Nika straightens up. “Sister, don’t turn into a robot! I hope you haven’t lost your sense of taste?”

“Well ... no.”

“And you still pay no attention to what you eat?”

“Well ... yes.”

“You’re embarrassing me, sister. All right, then. Then today we’ll have banosh, almost like the real thing...”

She is busy, pouring something into a bowl, adding, stirring, heating ... Lika sits down on the bed.

“How did you become a cyborg?” she asks.

“Well,” says Nika, “I always liked to tinker with technology. And I wanted to see other stars. And then my friend became a cyborg and told me what it was all about. And I decided: I want to have a body like that!” She turns on one leg with a bag and a bowl in her hands. “And I have never regretted it! What about you?”

“I’ve always loved tinkering with technology, too.”

“And?”

“That’s it.”

“You really embarrass me, sis.”

Nika places the food on two plates. It steams deliciously.

“Take a bottle and two glasses, the cupboard is on the right,” she says.

Lika takes it and looks at the bottle. “Wine?”

“Well, yes. Synthetic, of course, but it’s good. Why?”

“I’ve never drunk alcohol before.”

“Ever? Are you serious?”

“Never.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Nika looks at her friend carefully. - “From now on I’ll be your tutor.”

She opens the bottle and pours some wine. Lika tastes it carefully, but she likes it. They sit down to eat.

“It’s delicious!” Lika leans back against the wall beside the bed.