Her Masterpiece (hiatus for now)

Discussion

"I know she doesn't know, I know she thinks she's hiding everything from me but I know... She has been dealing with your emanator alone... I don't even know why I let you put it on my space station, to be honest."

"Taking care of it?"

"Yes, for years she has made her home below to keep it all in check... I know why you are avoiding her, I know it is because of her. Don't give me that look, you think you hide it well but I knew her too or have you forgotten?"

"I... Might have indeed forgotten with the years."

"Well if you'd accept my words of advice... She's gone, but she's not. That past can't be changed but don't throw away a future, even if it it artificial."

--------------------------------------------------

Sometimes Herta surprised her, that spinet of the conversation coming back to her like an echo of old when the climbing of porcelain on a glass surface brought her out of her reverie... If it can even be called that to begin with.

Ruan Mei looking down at the cup of steaming tea placed in front of her with a small plate with different pre-made pastries.

...

Well this is awkward.

Her not having moved from her sitting spot and her creation pulling a chair over and sitting down. The cataclysm that the rubber ball caused being over, Nihl having found each of the critters each their own.

Eye-X repeatedly squishing the its little maw as it sat in her lap.

Ruan Mei grabbed the cup to delay this a bit more, trying to section off all feelings and sort out the information but coming up with nothing, not knowing what to talk about.

Her wondering eyes snapped down at the liquid in the cup after the first sip, bringing it away from her face and intently staring with a visible frown but not because of the taste.

"You... Remembered?" She asked, lifting her gaze at her creation.

"You always made it the same way, I just assumed you didn't change preferences. A half spoon of sugar, two of honey and a bag of green tea steeped for 4.5 minutes with a few drops of lemon." The haunting emptiness in her voice made Ruan Mei close her eyes for a moment...

"You assumed well." Putting the cup down and picking up a pastry. "What are these?"

"Pasties."

"I meant like taste."

"The packaging says blueberry but I can't tell. I lack the ability to taste."

"Right." Had she really asked such a stupid question? She made her, she ran away, she should remember why she did that and not ask about it dammit. Taking a bite. "Indeed the right taste but on the dry side."

...

Well this is even more awkward now.

"I heard you stayed down here creation."

"Nihl."

"Hmm?"

"I am aware I am a failure, no need to tie your name to me... They've been calling my Nihl, or Herta still says Nihility."

"Nihility..." It did fit her, she was a lack of much. "Is that why you have that tattoo?" Trying to force herself to make small talk, picking up the cup by the little handle.

"No, Herta thought it best, a warning sign as nihility is dangero--" crack "-us." Nihl snapped her hand out the grab the cup before it shattered, not a drop lost when she put it down on the saucer.

Ruan Mei having broken the handle by pressing so hard at the news of Herta doing this to her work.

This... It was just a pink nihility symbol, nothing much... But how dare she touch something that she made? How dare she do that?... Because she was not here to stop it... She ran...

Putting down the broken piece of the handle, not acknowledging it and Nihl didn't break it up, the energy fusing through her sense of touch talking to not prod.

"At least it fits you." Ruan Mei said in controlled calm but she would need to have a word with the girl. "Tell me why you have those powers, nihility's path doesn't make someone crackle with pink lightning."

"It happened the first time Herta wanted me to run the simulated universe, before she had the walking stelleron to do it. Because of who and what I am, the system basically goes in a melt down and overload at the same time while shutting down... The system looking for something that isn't there while also having the programming trying to correct it, although that all I remember Herta saying but there was more. Wired into that electrical fire of a fuck up seemingly uploaded that discharge of energy into the nearest empty vessel which was me. It has not left since."

Ruan Mei will need to have a sever word with Herta.

That was extremely dangerous, she could have told her the moment that the idea was brought up.

Akivili was used as the base in the simulated universe, the code of the person logging it would be masked by the one from the dead aeon so that the simulated aeons would by inclined to show themselves.

...

But if something lacking most of its coding was logged in the fake aeon's code could imprint in those empty places and fuck the 'something lacking' really bad... Herta even knew this, they had had many volunteer before hand for aeons sack and saw how an intern suffering from undiagnosed early onset Alzheimer had their whole mind jumbled into a mess even more, claiming to be Akivili himself.

...

Seems all Nihl suffered was a rewrite in the form of these electrical powers, remembering how she was not only much faster but how she could channel it through a weapon and make spears or other weapons from it.

Nihl silently watched as her creator sat back, arms crossed, eyes closed as she thought and eyebrows with a slight fur, for ten minutes now... She did wonder what she was thinking about but let silence reign king outside of the sounds the critters were making.

"Has--" Rubbing her forehead as she opened her eyes and looked at her with a look she couldn't place. "-... Has she made more... Modifications, let's say, to you? Or experiments? Since I was last here?"

"Yes, she wants to understa--" "That is it." Said a bit harsher then Ruan Mei probably would have wanted as she stood up.

Nihl watched her walk away as if she suddenly had a mission.

"You all stay here." She said to the critters, putting Eye-X down while she stood, she'd follow her to be sure nothing would be a danger to her even if she didn't know what was happening.

Neither women really know where this discussion was meant to go but it really didn't last long in the end.