Sonder

1. Halcyon of Hiraeth

To Halcyon,

Hey. I have something to tell you. Perhaps a secret.

Tutal malapit naman nang matapos ang lahat, handa na akong magkwento. I'll tell you everything I know.

December 10, 2022 nang natapos ang pandemyang COVID-19. Everyone was finally free. Dahil dito, mas pinagtuunan nila ng pansin ang siyensiya. Doctors, chemists, scientists and all just to help and save everyone, especially our dying planet.

Years after that, September 21, 2025, two young scientists got awarded by the government. They made something. Something that can be used to protect our country. Pandigma at para sa mga mamamayan.

An android.

On January 2026, they started making more of it. At muli ngang umangat ang bansa dahil dito. Umangat at magkaroon ng maraming kaaway.

March 10, 2027... nagkaroon ng anak ang dalawang scientist. A girl named Nine, who died at the age of 15 when some terrorists attacked the country on October 18, 2042.

Philippines was at war for 3 years because of the droids, blueprints and other technologies. At dahil hindi pa rin nakukuha ang gusto, the terrorists made a virus that can easily kill when infected.

June 05, 2044, they abducted 13 Filipinos and injected them with the virus. They were sent back to spread the so-called disease and for a week, the whole country was infected. Of course, half of the population died.

The terrorists won and abducted the remaining Filipino survivors for slavery, experiments, prostitution...

At tuluyan nang bumagsak ang Pilipinas.

Year 2050, on the 5th day of February, I was born. My mom was a slave who died after giving birth. Fortunately, kinupkop ako ni Dr. Greg Murphy. A scientist. Under his care, I became one of them. Nahilig ako sa siyensiya. Papa was so proud of me for being the youngest scientist registered in that country.

And on the first day of March, year 2066, Dr. Murphy gave me his last project before passing away. Tinawag niya itong Re-9: Project na kinailangang gawin sa Pilipinas.

Papa said that no one should ever know about it, so I went to the fallen country alone. Sa Cebu, kung saan pinatayo ang lumang laboratoryo ng dalawang sikat na scientist.

Magulo ang paligid, ang buong Pilipinas, at wala nang buhay. At sa paglipas ng mga susunod na taon, hindi na makikilala pa ang bansang ito. Alam ko... dahil nakita ko.

March 24, 2066 when I found the lab under their house. I also found a girl. A dead girl inside a glass tube. Nakakagulat pero sigurado ako nang mga panahong yun na siya ang Re-9: Project.

She is Nine. Daughter of the two scientists.

They preserved her body, pero hindi ko alam noon kung bakit at anong kinalaman ni Papa dito.

January 30, 2068 nang natapos ko ang project. Salamat sa blueprints at mga gamit sa lab, I made an android version of Nine. But I thought it was a failure for it never responded nor opened its eyes.

September 2068, gumawa ulit ako ng bagong microchip that contained Nine's memories and tried to fix the droid again.

And... I failed.

And I have never been so frustrated in my whole life as a scientist.

Pinag-aralan ko ulit siya. A dead girl from 2042. Nine.

Sinubukan ko ulit, taong 2069. After meticulously checking everything, I tried opening her again. And again... and again.

Failed. I failed. Again.